Jalen Pace brings walk-on grit, football IQ, and Buckeye pedigree to Ohio State’s linebacker room
Jalen Pace is a former preferred walk-on who has carved out value at Ohio State with his instincts, effort, and versatility rather than sheer recruiting hype. In high school, he showed playmaking juice as a senior with 46 tackles, 3 sacks, and 4 interceptions in 2020, and Ohio State has consistently recognized him as a scholar-athlete and academic standout. The differentiator: he’s a high-motor, intelligent linebacker with a strong family football pedigree, but he profiles more as a dependable depth-and-special-teams fit than a headline star.
