It's easy to forget Landon Pace has a mean streak — unless you're on the other side of him in the open field.
ºüÀêÊÓƵ University High's 6-foot-3 senior tight end is never without a smile. He constantly tells jokes to his teammates, and his laughter echoes in every stadium he visits.
But when the whistle blows, he flips the switch.
"He's always playing, but he's a dog, for sure," SLUH junior Keenan Harris said.
Whether mauling defensive linemen as he blocks or running through defensive backs on routes, Pace has a bad-tempered streak that contrasts with his beaming smile.
"The thing is, you'll realize when you talk to him he has that mean streak, but Landon is also a goofball," SLUH coach Adam Cruz said. "He's a funny kid. He's dancing all the time, joking around all the time. What I admire most about Landon is he can fit in in any situation."
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It's a good thing his position flexes with his personality. The No. 14 recruit on the Post-Dispatch's Super 30 countdown of the area's top senior college football prospects seemed destined to be an offensive lineman.
Like his father — Orlando Pace, Pro Football Hall of Famer and former ºüÀêÊÓƵ Rams offensive tackle — Landon Pace demonstrated a dominating ability on the line.
Pace initially had reservations about moving to tight end, but once he made the switch he never wanted to leave.
"I feel like I definitely wanted something different, you know," Pace said. "I feel like I had the perfect size and athletic ability."
Pace enjoyed a breakout junior season as a receiving threat, making 29 catches for 425 yards with five touchdowns.
In his first two seasons, he totaled 13 receptions for 180 yards and three TDs. The effort to perfect his pass-catching abilities hasn't gone unnoticed.
"We move him around the formation a lot," Cruz said. "You know he can split out wide and be fine. There's even some situations we've played him all the way out wide to kind of create a mismatch. And he can do that stuff too, because he's such a good athlete."
Pace hasn't committed but has received offers from schools including Ball State, Boston College, Central Florida, Connecticut, Iowa State, Georgia Tech, Lindenwood, Louisville, Memphis, Missouri, UNLV, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
And despite leaning into the receiving aspect of being a tight end, he translates a lineman's bulldozer mentality with the ball in his hands.
"I'd rather run (defenders) over," Pace said. "These secondaries, they don't want to tackle me. I can catch any ball across the middle and get it up the field."
His ability to switch from laughing to mauling defenders makes Pace a perfect fit for his position and as he grows into a leadership role for the Jr. Bills.
Pace's personality helps Pace reach everyone on the team and beyond.
"He fits in with all the kinds of kids on the team from all walks of life," Cruz said. "At SLUH, we have guys from over 190 zip codes and Landon can fit in with everybody, which is cool."
It's not hard to see a little bit of his father in how Pace plays. To some, it may be hard to step out of the shadow of a Hall of Famer.
But Pace said he has never felt like he's living in his father's shadow, and he frequently taps into the reservoir of knowledge available to him.
"Yeah, he's a great role model for me," Landon Pace said. "We always watch films after games and stuff. And he will teach me a little stuff and always help out."
The Jr. Billikens are coming off a 7-5 season and reached a district final.Â
As SLUH tries to stay on that track, Pace figures to be a focal point of the offense, especially with the graduation of the team's top two receivers from last season — Ryan Wingo, who now is playing for the University of Texas; and Joseph Harris, who now is at Princeton.
"I mean, I think the sky's the limit," Cruz said. "I think we've got a quarterback who really likes throwing at the tight end, and I think there's a lot of things we can do with him. Between him and Zach Allen, I think we'll have some new faces, but I think it's nice to have him there."
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