Bearcats linebacker Ivan Pace was tabbed to the AAC Weekly Honor Roll after a dominating performance versus Arkansas Saturday in the Bearcats 31-24 loss, where he recorded a team high 12 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and a sack.
Pace, will be a vital piece for this Bearcats defense this season as people were starting to take notice of what the reigning MAC Defensive Player of the Year was coming to do for his hometown Bearcats. Coming off a season where he recorded 125 tackles with the Miami RedHawks, Pace was looking to repeat for another great season. Pace, who had a dominant camp leading up to this contest, has shown his aggression when finding the ball, he seems to be around the ball at all times, but he’s also finding ways to disrupt the quarterback as we saw Saturday he was in the Razorback backfield quite a bit, including a huge sack on K.J. Jefferson where he laid an absolute boom stick on the 6-foot-3, 245 pound Jefferson, and to make a hit and tackle like that on someone Jefferson’s size is incredible. Bearcats fans will be very happy throughout the season with the intensity and play that Ivan Pace will bring to the table.
Pace was gaining a lot of praise from his team and coaching staff following his dominant performance versus a high powered Arkansas team.
“You got to love playing next to a guy like Ivan Pace, he’s just everywhere at all times flies around making plays. He brings a confidence to the defense. He has swag, he is one of those guys who locks in and doesn’t say much on the field but just by the way he plays, he brings guys along with him,” said linebacker Wil Huber.
Coach Fickell also elaborated on the performance from the senior linebacker about his debut performance on Saturday.
“ He is an aggressive football player, we had to move him around a bit, he hadn’t played much MIKE, Wil Huber went down early and we had to bump him over to MIKE. I give him a lot of credit, he is a football guy, with really good instincts. We will find ways to keep moving him around and getting him opportunities to be aggressive and make plays”
The Bearcats will be back in Nippert Stadium this Saturday for their 2022 home opener where they welcome in Kennesaw State for an afternoon showdown. Kickoff is slated for 3:30pm on ESPN+
