Rams News

Pace feels like a freshman at first camp
07/24 08:30 PM

By Jim Thomas
Of the Post-Dispatch Staff


MACOMB, Ill. -- The Big Fella couldn't wait to get to his first NFL training camp. So much so, that Orlando Pace ran afoul of the local authorities Thursday afternoon, just as he pulled into town.
``I got pulled over,'' Pace said. ``I couldn't talk my way out of it. The policeman said, `I know you've got the money to pay for the ticket.' He knew who I was.''
Yeah, Pace has enough money to pay for a speeding ticket. As the No. 1 overall pick in the draft last year, he signed a six-year, $18.3 million contract -- a deal that included the largest signing bonus ($6.3 million) in franchise history.
Pace signed only after going O-for-Macomb. The offensive tackle from Ohio State missed the entire training camp before agreeing on a contract Aug. 16. By then, the team had broken camp, and reconvened at Rams Park in St. Louis for the '97 season.
So this is all new to Pace. The drive up Highway 67, the quaint town square, his dormitory room at Thompson Hall, the practice facilities at Western Illinois University. The local police force. Welcome to Macomb, Orlando.
``I feel like I'm back in college -- a freshman in college again,'' said Pace, who had to ask his teammates for directions to get here.
Because of a rigorous offseason conditioning program, Pace reported to Macomb about 20 pounds lighter than the 340 he played at last season as a rookie. The better to handle speed rushers.
``I just got with our strength coaches,'' Pace said. ``Working out just four days a week has really helped me. It's not necessarily that I was trying to lose weight. I think it's just when you get into shape, it naturally comes off.''
Pace, who is 6 feet 7, got down to an almost anorexic 307 pounds at one point this summer. He looked more like an NBA power forward than an NFL offensive tackle.
``That was way too light for me,'' Pace said. ``So I had to put on a couple more pounds.''
His mother took care of that in the past couple of weeks with some home cooking in Sandusky, Ohio. He arrived in Macomb in the 315- to 320-pound range, which is his desired playing weight. He plans to keep the extra weight it off, as evidenced by his first training camp meal Thursday night.
``Grilled chicken, noodles and potato soup,'' Pace said.
No dessert? ``Didn't touch it. Didn't touch it at all,'' Pace said.
Like most of the linemen in camp, Pace has put two beds together to form a pallet big enough to sleep on. Even so, his legs hang off the edge at night. At least those dangling legs are stronger legs. As part of his offseason weightlifting regimen, Pace paid particular attention to increasing his leg strength.
``He needed to get those legs strong because the game is a game of leverage,'' offensive line coach Jim Hanifan said. ``The game is played with the legs. That's where your strength's got to be, in your thighs and in your butt.''
As an addendum, Pace did a lot of lifting to strengthen the muscles around his knee. He missed three games last season because of a patellar tendon injury. The knee still bothers him occasionally, but Pace said, ``you just have to block that out and go out and play.''
This year, Hanifan has his star left tackle in camp from Day One, giving him plenty of time to mold Pace into the NFL player everyone expects him to be.
``Training camp gives you a flock of opportunities to compete and have all that repetition,'' Hanifan said after Pace's first practice Friday morning. ``So it becomes automatic. It's muscle memory. It's the same thing with the golfer who hits that ball 1,000 times. Well, the offensive lineman unfortunately doesn't hit a ball. He hits human beings.''
So how much will being in camp help Pace this summer?
``Oh, about 1,000 percent,'' Hanifan said.

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