Is Cole Pennington related to Chad Pennington? Meet the Marshall QB following in NFL dad's footsteps

Although only 77 players have been given the opportunity to play in the NFL in the program's history, Marshall has quite an impressive alumni network.

Among those who played for the Thundering Herd and ventured into the professional game are two of the most famous players of the early 2000s: Chad Pennington and Randy Moss. The quarterback-receiver duo played together for two seasons in West Virginia and eventually played against each other in the major leagues for over a decade.

With both Marshall legends leaving football behind several years ago, it's no wonder college football fans have had a certain sense of déjà vu watching the program over the past few seasons. Another Pennington quarterback has burst onto the NCAA landscape, and he just happens to attend the same school as his predecessor.

As many suspected, this is no coincidence.

Here's everything you need to know about Cole Pennington's relationship with Chad Pennington, including how the Marshall third batter is following in his NFL father's footsteps.

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Is Cole Pennington related to Chad Pennington?

Yes, Cole Pennington is one of three sons of Chad Pennington and his wife Robin Hampton.

They raised their family in Versailles, Kentucky, where Chad coached Cole's high school football team. As quarterback for the Sayre School, Cole posted a 16-4 record for three seasons under his father, throwing for over 4,000 yards and scoring 56 total touchdowns with a 70 percent completion rate.

The duo led Sayre to the playoffs in 2020, an impressive feat considering the school reinstated its football program that same year after it was discontinued in 1977. Chad helped re-establish the varsity team, which now includes Cole's younger brother Luke.

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Cole Pennington Statistics

Cole Pennington is the Thundering Herd's third quarterback, backing up Braylon Braxton and Stone Earle. He was ineligible in his freshman season in 2022 and played in four games the following year, including Marshall's loss to UTSA in the Scooter's Coffee Frisco Bowl. Pennington played well despite a 35-17 loss, rushing for 258 yards on 15 completions.

So far in 2024, he has played in just one game – Marshall's stunning 45-3 win over Stony Brook. The redshirt sophomore led the team's final touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter and looked solid despite not being on the field much in his career.

Here’s a look at his performance as a quarterback:

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Chad Pennington NFL career

Chad Pennington played center in four of his five seasons at Marshall between 1995 and 1999, where he helped lead the school's first bowl game victory and went undefeated in his final season, with future NFL Hall-of-Famer Moss as his biggest target.

As a result, Pennington was selected 18th overall by the Jets in the 2000 NFL Draft, ahead of future all-time great Tom Brady. Pennington earned the starting job in his third season in the league, reversing a year in which the team lost four of its first five games and turning it into a 9-7 season that ended with a loss in the Divisional Round. To get there, Pennington shut out then-Colts quarterback Peyton Manning 41-0 in his first playoff win. He also led the league in completion percentage and passer rating despite starting just 12 games.

His 11-year career was not without setbacks. A serious injury ended his 2005 season and he was benched for eight weeks in 2007 during his final year with the Jets. But Pennington never gave up and was named NFL Comeback Player of the Year in the seasons following the two incidents, making him the only player to win the award multiple times.

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After eight seasons with New York, five of which he began as the team's starter, the Jets signed veteran quarterback Brett Favre from the Packers and released Pennington in the process. He spent his final three seasons with Miami, but was plagued by injuries after his freshman season in 2008. That year, he broke Dan Marino's single-season pass completion rate with a 67.4 percent rate and also became the first Dolphins quarterback since being inducted into the Hall of Fame to throw for 3,500 yards.

The following season, Pennington re-injured his shoulder – which he had already undergone two previous surgeries – and was placed on the injured list. He was expected to play for the Dolphins again in 2010, but suffered the same fate in the first game of the season. This time, it was considered potentially career-ending.

He attempted a comeback the next year, but shortly after the conclusion of the 2010 season, he tore his anterior cruciate ligament in a basketball game. Pennington officially retired in February 2012, ending an incredibly successful NFL career.