The legacy of the Pace family continues in the state of Ohio.
Jalen Pace, the son of Ohio State legend Orlando Pace, has accepted a preferred place to play with the Buckeyes, he announced on Twitter today.
100% dedicated pic.twitter.com/m85OiK7EfR
– Jalen Pace (@pace_jalen) March 9, 2021
Pace will now follow in the footsteps of his father, who was a two-time one-time All-American, the first team and a two-time big ten offensive lineout of the year for the Buckeyes. Pace, a Pro Football Hall of Famer, was named the first overall pick by the St. Louis Rams took in the NFL draft in 1997 and received seven Pro Bowl picks and three All-Pro honors as a left-hander.
However, his son played a different role for Missouri’s Mary Institute and Saint Louis Country Day School. Pace is a 6-foot-3, £ 195 outfielder who also played a bit tight during his senior season en route to a state final in the Class 4A playoffs this fall.
Pace finished with 46 tackles (29 solos) with three tackles-for-loss, three bags, three passes defended and a team-high four interceptions over eight games in 2020. He also added a blocked point and a forced fumble .
“I’m so proud of all the work he’s done because the process is a lot harder than most people think,” Orlando Pace told Benjamin Hochman of St. Louis. Louis Post-Dispatch said.
Jalen Pace has tabled three scholarships from Dayton, Quincy and Lindenwood universities, and he will bring a high grade to the Buckeyes program, his head coach said.
“(Jalen is a) warm, very handsome, modest young man,” MICDS head coach Fred Bouchard told Hochman. “It’s clear he’s instilled through parents the right character traits that will last Jalen’s lifetime.”
Pace will join Jackson Kuwatch, Mason Arnold, Cayden Saunders and Zak Herbstreit along with Toby Wilson and Reis Stockdale as preferred steps in the Buckeyes’ 2021 class.
Like Pace, Saunders and Herbstreit are a legacy in the state of Ohio. Saunders is the son of former Buckeye and Dwayne Haskins agent Cedric Saunders, and Herbstreit is the son of former Buckeye quarterback and current ESPN commentator Kirk Herbstreit. And Wilson is the son of Ohio State offensive coordinator / coach Kevin Wilson.