Change of Scenery Helps Pendleton Get on the Right Track : Titans: Senior cornerback cleans up his act after transfer to a high school out of his attendance area.

Nuygen Pendleton’s rise from a scrawny high school football player who didn’t receive one recruiting letter or phone call to a Division I scholarship player who starts for Cal State Fullerton is improbable enough.

But what is even more surprising is that Pendleton made it past high school on the educational track. Those who knew him in junior high certainly wouldn’t have given Pendleton good odds.

Pendleton had juvenile delinquent written all over him. He was a pint-sized hellion who might have set an unofficial record for suspensions at Stephens Junior High in Long Beach--about 20 in three years, Pendleton estimates.

“I was always in trouble,” said Pendleton, a 5-foot-8, 160-pound senior cornerback at Fullerton. “I was hanging around gangsters, getting in fights every week, skipping school, smoking weed, stealing from people, sneaking out of the house late at night. I was trying to be a tough guy.”

Then his mother, Margaret Keaton, decided to toughen up. She requested and received an inter-district transfer so Pendleton could to go to a high school outside of his attendance area.

Instead of attending Long Beach Poly, Pendleton was bused to Millikan High. The change of scenery and some stern motherly lectures, proved to be the right tonic.

Pendleton was suspended once in his freshman year, but from then on was a model citizen at Millikan. He played football and ran track and graduated with a 2.6 grade-point average. He says he hasn’t touched marijuana since junior high school.

He went on to compete for the Long Beach City College football and track teams before doing the same at Cal State Fullerton.

And for this, he thanks his mom.

“I’m sure glad she changed me around, because I’d probably be in jail right now,” Pendleton said.

Keaton admits she was worried about Pendleton during those tumultuous times.

“But when he reached the 10th grade and got into football, he started to care more about his schoolwork,” Keaton said. “I figured if I could break him up with his friends and get him in a new environment, it would change him, and it did. I’m very proud of the way he turned out.”

Still, few would have thought Pendleton would turn up in a college secondary. At Millikan, he was a 135-pound wide receiver and defensive back who didn’t earn all-league honors.

After graduating in 1985, Pendleton didn’t pursue college athletics. He attended El Camino College instead before deciding to enroll at Long Beach City and run track during the 1986-87 school year.

Pendleton finished fourth in the long jump at the 1987 state community college meet, helping Long Beach win the title. He also caught the eye of Viking football Coach Wil Shaw, who talked Pendleton into trying out for the football team.

Pendleton was a reserve on the 1987 team but started in 1988, earning second-team, all-Mission Conference honors at cornerback and first-team punt return honors.

He was a part-time starter for Fullerton in 1989 but appeared in all 11 games, making 27 tackles, intercepting one pass and returning 23 punts for 156 yards. He also placed third in the long jump (23 feet 5 1/2 inches) at last spring’s Big West Conference track meet.

Pendleton earned a starting job this season but has found himself amid another world of trouble. Not the kind he had in junior high school, but trouble just the same.

The secondary was supposed to be one of Fullerton’s strengths this season, but in three games it has been a sore spot.

Depleted by injuries and academic ineligibilities and forced to use several inexperienced defensive backs, the Titans have allowed 842 yards passing and eight touchdowns in the three games.

Pendleton isn’t shouldering much of the blame. He sprained his ankle early in the second half against Auburn, sat out last week’s game against Mississippi State and is expected to return for Saturday’s game at Akron.

But he’s still feeling the heat.

“We’re all sort of down, because we were supposed to be a strong point and now it looks like we’re the weakest point of the team,” Pendleton said. “We know everyone is going to try to throw on us, but instead of missing tackles and assignments, we have to do what we’re supposed to do.

“We have to come together real fast, because we play Fresno State next week and that’s the game of the year for us.”

It pained Pendleton to watch last week’s game. Mississippi State quarterback Tony Shell, who would have trouble starting for most Big West teams, shredded Fullerton’s defense for 220 yards and two touchdowns as the Bulldogs erased a 13-6 halftime deficit and won, 27-13.

The Titan secondary consisted of seniors Darrell Bruce, Lionel Denman and Bob Baiz, none of whom saw much action last season, walk-on redshirt freshman Darrius Watson, junior walk-on Dan Seymour and freshman Terry Sullivan.

“When they started catching up, I asked (defensive backs coach) Mike Foster if I could go in, but he said no,” Pendleton said. “I think I could have helped the team.”

But Titan Coach Gene Murphy had decided before the game that Pendleton wouldn’t play, no matter what the circumstances.

“He was doing jumping jacks on one foot in warm-ups,” Murphy said.

Pendleton will be a sight for sore coaching eyes this week, though.

“He’s our best cover guy in terms of closing speed, being able to shorten the distance between him and the receiver once the ball is thrown,” Foster said. “He has great instincts and abilities.

“And with him, we won’t have to play so many people who are tired, so we should be stronger at the end of the game. Last week we had only three cornerbacks, and one of them (Darrell Bruce) played every down. I’d rather not do that.”