The week of practices at the Reese’s Senior Bowl is arguably more important than the game when it comes to NFL draft prospects. One player who made the most of his week was National linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. Pace played his college ball at Cincinnati and was named the National team’s linebacker Practice Player of the Week by his peers.
Pace should be of particular interest to the Pittsburgh Steelers. He’s an incredibly active, athletic linebacker who can line up inside or outside and seems to be involved in every play.
Pace transferred to Cincinnati after starting his college career at Miami (OH). In 2022, Pace stepped up his pass-rush game and finished with nine sacks and 20.5 tackles for loss to go along with 136 total tackles.
The Steelers have big decisions to make about their inside linebacker depth chart. Devin Bush and Robert Spillane are both pending free agents, and Myles Jack underwhelmed in 2022. This leaves Mark Robinson as the only sure thing on the roster for 2023. Pace is currently somewhere in the third- or fourth-round range as an inside linebacker but could see his draft stock rise after he shows off his athleticism at the scouting combine.
BREAKING: Cincinnati’s Ivan Pace Jr. (@ivan_pacejr) has been voted National team’s LB Practice Player-of-Week by vote from his peers in National OL, TE, and RB groups.#TheDraftStartsInMOBILE™️ pic.twitter.com/9SIEv200oa
— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) February 3, 2023
