Mario Pender Is Counting His Blessings

Mario Pender stood on the sideline at AT&T Stadium not sure if he’d even get into the game. He’d been told he would receive carries in the Seminoles’ opener against the Oklahoma State Cowboys, but he didn’t know when — or even if — it would happen.

“I was just sitting there waiting to get my number called,” said Pender on Monday. “I was in Coach Graham’s hip [pocket] the whole game. [Finally] he turned around and looked at me and said, ‘get ready,’ I said ‘coach I’m already ready.’”

Pender had been ready since he had arrived on Florida State’s campus in the Spring of 2012 as an early enrollee from Island Coast High School in Cape Coral– or at least so he’d thought.

But things kept happening, kept getting in his way.

First it was a sports hernia. Pender had trained so hard, worked out so fiercely that his muscles had grown stronger than the soft tissue — the tendons and ligaments — in his groin could handle. One day during practice Pender planted on a cut and suffered a tear. His first season was over before it had even begun.

Another Spring came and went, and again the coaches spoke highly of Pender and what he could do as a running back. He was healthy again and his teammates, James Wilder and Devonta Freeman, were busy talking about how the trio would form an unstoppable three-headed rushing attack the next season.

But this time academics got in the way, Pender was ruled ineligible before the start of the 2013 season and once again his year was over before it had even started.

While he was out Karlos Williams moved to running back and gained over 700 yards and 11 touchdowns on just 91 carries. Then Dalvin Cook — the star Miami Central running back who had just been named Mr. Florida — signed a letter of intent and arrived on campus early. Just like that Pender was getting passed. His future — at least in the eyes of the Florida State fan-base — had come into doubt.

“When that first happened [and I was ruled ineligible], I’d say when it first happened [I started to have some doubts about my future],” said Pender. “The first year it was God blessed me with an injury, so I had to take that loss. But the second year, I take responsibility for that and I just felt down for a while but like I said, James Wilder and Devonta Freeman, they really stood by my side and showed me it was something to work for and I couldn’t give up. Even coach Fisher, it’s a great support system here so I just felt like I couldn’t give up on the support system.”

And Pender didn’t. Even when he had another setback last December — a former teammate and another man stole Pender’s debit card and days later a confrontation over it lead to a shooting — he didn’t give up. Instead he kept fighting. He fought through a nagging injury in the Spring. Battled through a tough Fall camp and finally, last Saturday, he found himself taking the field for the first time in a game for Florida State.

“Right when I got in the game Jameis actually looked right at me [in the huddle],” said Pender, describing how Winston had eased his nerves. “Then he [did a double-take and] looked at me again and he winked.”

Added guard Tre Jackson: “I didn’t even know that Mario Pender was in until I saw him fly by me and then I was like, ‘oh that’s number seven– he’s gone.’”

On Pender’s first career touch he grabbed the handoff on the Oklahoma State 11, took two steps to his left, cut back to his right and sprinted towards the end zone, flattening safety Jordan Sterns at the goal-line as he scored on his first carry.

“Seeing him get in the end zone was amazing just knowing that it’s him,” said Jackson. “Just knowing what he’s been through I think it’s a big thing… Knowing the obstacles the guy has faced and just the mindset he has, he’s still there pushing, just trying to get better, just it being him makes it that much better.”

Said Pender: “I wish I could describe the feeling, but to me it was a blessing, and we’ve got to count our blessings. So I really felt like it was a blessing God sent me.”

He carried just two more times after that and caught one pass, finishing with 31 yards on the night, but it was enough to get Florida State fans excited again. For the first time in over a year Seminoles fans were talking about Mario Pender.

That isn’t lost on his head coach.

“Let me tell you something, I am so proud of him. What he has overcome, what he has went through, from the things he had going on, the year he had to overcome — even in his personal life he had issues that he couldn’t control — I mean he overcame a lot and has really grown as a human being,” said Jimbo Fisher. “I’ve said before, he’s an extremely intelligent young man, great heart, good person. And what he has overcome to get to where he’s at, I can’t wait for him to have success, I really can’t.”

Pender credits his teammates and his head coach for keeping him motivated through his trials and tribulations over the past couple of years. In particular, he mentions Wilder and Freeman, as well as former teammate Chris Thompson and defensive end Mario Edwards Jr.

“I had a lot of teammates around me that kind of kept me focused and helped me stay focused and I couldn’t let them down after everything we had been through together,” said Pender. “So I felt like I had to stay on track for them and myself.”

But it’s Fisher that he thanks the most.

“Coach Fisher, he’s been on me, he’s actually been a big part of the reason for who I am today,” said Pender. “[Because of him] I never thought of quitting or transferring.”

Said Fisher: “There’s a lot more inside that guy than people ever give credit for. We always see the outside and we always see the different things that go on, but there’s a lot to him inside. And to me, that’s one of the things about college coaching that makes it very special.”

Pender even admits that the second season he missed, the one he was ineligible for, was probably a blessing in disguise because it helped him continue to mature and come into his own.

“I really do feel like that was a blessing, and I really feel like God worked it out this way just for me to be in the situation I am right now,” Pender said.

This past Spring Pender was named one of FSU’s Academic Warriors– an honor given to players who earn a 3.0 or higher. It was a remarkable accomplishment, a major point of redemption for the redshirt sophomore running back.

“I definitely do take pride in [that] and I am going to keep striving to stay on the academic warrior [list] and even go higher,” said Pender. “It gives you that feeling that you’re doing what you’re supposed to be doing.”

Pender admits he doesn’t know how much he’ll be involved this year. He doesn’t know how much he’ll get to contribute. But he knows he’ll be ready when called on. And those opportunities aren’t something he’ll take for granted.

But for now, he’s just relishing the memories from Dallas– he’s still happy just to be back on the field.

After scoring on Saturday, Mario Pender blew a kiss to the stands. His mother and father were in attendance. It was a moment they had been waiting for too. One that was more than two and a half years in the making. And it couldn’t have come on a bigger stage.

“I knew I had my mother there, and that was also a blessing,” said Pender. “So count my blessings.”