Wake Forest Athletics
Calvin Pace: Pace Maker
11/25/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 25, 2002
In his fourth season at Wake Forest, Calvin Pace has already broken one record and is on the verge of breaking yet another.
During the Duke game, Pace surpassed the Baltimore Ravens' Mike McCrary to set the Wake Forest record of most tackles for a loss. McCrary played for Wake Forest from 1989 to 1992. But Pace is cautious about putting too much emphasis on this record. Since a player is awarded a tackle for every sack he makes, accumulating tackle statistics is "like killing two birds with one stone," he says. "The sack record is definitely harder to break."
Now just two sacks away from McCrary's record of 30 sacks, Pace hopes to smash that record this week.
"I just want to break it and hope I can do it at home. Records are meant to be broken and this one has been standing a long time."
Pace sees the upcoming Navy game as a challenge. Beating Navy, a great running team, according to defensive line coach Ray McCartney, means stopping the run and that doesn't leave as many opportunities for sacking the quarterback.
But, Pace remains optimistic. "You can't play a game and not pass the ball sometime. Hopefully we can get a big lead and make them throw the ball."
Pace entered the season with 21 career sacks, just 10 away from McCrary's record. Now two games from the end of the regular season, Pace says he feels like he should have broken the sack record a long time ago.
"I wish I had made more plays in bigger games that we lost," he says referring to Wake's losses to Clemson and Florida State.
As the team looks forward, the goal isn't for Pace to break the sack record but rather to win the next two games. McCartney said, "Calvin knows that our focus is team and that it is our first priority here at Wake Forest."
McCartney also says he hopes this is the week for Pace. "We would be ecstatic if Calvin broke the record, but Calvin knows the importance of the team at Wake Forest. Our focus right now is on winning the Navy game."
Pace says that he understands the team concept better now than when he was younger. On the field, Pace focuses on leading by example.
"I understand what it means to play for a team. I don't lead much by talking," he said. "I try to lead by being an example on the field. I let every man do his job, and I do mine."
In high school, Pace played not only football but also basketball and baseball. "I always wanted to play a sport and had a talent for football."
Pace accumulated many honors for his high school performance, including all-county defensive player of the year. He likes football because of the physical aspect of the game and unlike basketball "you don't have to be good at everything to be successful."
With only two games left in the regular season, Pace is looking ahead to life after Wake Forest football.
"Ever since I started playing football it's been a goal of mine to play in the NFL. I want to play as long as possible," Pace said.
"I'm not the fastest or the strongest, but I don't have to be. If you have a lot of heart you can be successful," he said.
McCartney said it's possible that Pace will be a high draft pick, perhaps first or second round.
"The NFL is a business and you can never know what is going to happen, but all the scouts that we've had through here have said that he'll go high," he said.
Other college coaches have adjusted their game plans around Pace.
"Calvin Pace is an outstanding player," Purdue coach Joe Tiller said. "I think he's the best defensive end we've seen since Courtney Brown (formerly of Penn State, the first overall pick of the 1999 draft)."
McCartney agrees.
"Calvin is the finest football player I have coached in my career, all 23 years," McCartney said. "But graduating is far and away the most important thing to me, Coach Grobe and his parents. A college degree will give Pace opportunities after football."
But right now, there are plenty of opportunities left in football. That includes two more regular season games and a sack record to break.
