Deshawn Pace: LB · UCF · #3.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Deshawn Pace
Ranges from hash to hash and finishes the tackle. The five seasons span two programs and three head coaches: Luke Fickell, Scott Satterfield and Gus Malzahn. The first one came in 2021: AAC Defensive Player of the Week. A game that shows it: 11 tackles and 1 tackle for loss against TCU — Week 3, 2024.
Play style
Ranges from hash to hash and makes his own tackles.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
61 tackles. 1 pass defended. 2 interceptions. 3.5 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
Yahoo Sports Oct 29Yahoo Sports Oct 26Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | UCF | 61 | 40 | 3.5 | 0.0 | 1 | 2 | -- |
| 2023 | Cincinnati | 80 | 42 | 11.0 | 1.5 | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| 2022 | Cincinnati | 55 | 29 | 5.0 | 1.0 | 1 | 1 | -- |
| 2021 | Cincinnati | 95 | 45 | 9.5 | 0.5 | 2 | 4 | -- |
| 2020 | Cincinnati | 10 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 301 | 159 | 29.0 | 3.0 | 9 | 8 | 1 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2024 season · 12 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 57-3vs New Hampshire | 5 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 45-14vs Sam Houston | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 35-34@ TCU | 11 | 8 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 11 tackles |
| Wk 5 | L 21-48vs Colorado | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 13-24@ Florida | 5 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 13-19vs Cincinnati | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 35-38@ No. 9 Iowa State | 6 | 4 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 9 | L 24-37vs No. 11 BYU | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | W 56-12vs Arizona | 4 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | L 31-35@ Arizona State | 6 | 4 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | L 21-31@ West Virginia | 6 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 14 | L 14-28vs Utah | 7 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 61 | 40 | 3.5 | 0.0 | 2 | 1 |
Week 3 · 2024
W 35-34
at TCU
1 tackle for loss · 11 tackles · 8 solo tackles
Edged out TCU on the road in a shootout.
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Tackle volume
61tackles this seasonTFL rate
6%4 TFLSack rate
0%0 sacksPD rate
2%1 pass breakups61 tackles · 3.5 for loss · 2 interceptions.
Splits · Per-game
2024 season · 12 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home7g | 3.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Road5g | 6.8 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 4.7 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 5.5 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Gus Malzahn
Pass share
37.5%
310 pass / 516 run
Plays / game
68.8
12 games
Team sack rate
8.2%
318 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-heavy.
Player standing · 2024
About as many tackles a game as a typical FBS linebacker who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #216 at the position.
How it ended
Five seasons, at Cincinnati and UCF, 301 tackles — the college career is complete.
Four or fewer games in the first season, then ten or more.
The role got bigger.
Coaching lineage · 2020–2024
3 coachesPlayed for 3 head coaches at 2 schools: Luke Fickell, Scott Satterfield and Gus Malzahn.
