Ask anyone who watched Big Ten football in the mid-90s about the most terrifying player on the field, and they won't point to a linebacker or a bruising safety. They’ll talk about a left tackle. Specifically, they'll talk about Orlando Pace Ohio State legend and the man who made "pancake" a part of the everyday football vocabulary.
He was a literal mountain that moved like a gazelle.
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Usually, offensive linemen are invisible until they mess up. You notice the holding call or the missed assignment that gets a quarterback leveled. But with Pace, you couldn't look away. It was weirdly hypnotic. He’d pull on a sweep, find a linebacker who thought he had a clean shot at Eddie George, and simply erase him from the earth.
The Freshman Who Changed Everything
Most true freshmen are just trying to find the dining hall and not get bullied in the locker room. Not Orlando. He arrived in Columbus from Sandusky, Ohio, standing 6-foot-7 and weighing north of 320 pounds, and he didn't just compete; he dominated. He was only the second true freshman ever to start on opening day for the Buckeyes. Think about the level of trust John Cooper had to have to put a 19-year-old at the most critical pass-blocking spot on the line.
He didn't just hold his own. He redefined the position.
Before Orlando Pace, left tackles were seen as massive statues. He changed that. He had the footwork of a basketball player—which makes sense because he was a standout hooper in high school—and the raw power of a powerlifter. Honestly, it wasn't fair. Defenders would try to speed-rush him, and he’d just slide his feet and guide them into the bench area. They’d try to bull-rush, and it was like hitting a brick wall that hits back.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Pancake Block
We talk about pancake blocks all the time now. Every high school kid with a highlight tape has a "pancake" section. But it started with Pace. The Ohio State sports information department actually created a "Pancake Man" campaign to help his Heisman run. They even handed out pancake magnets.
But here is the thing: a lot of people think a pancake is just falling on someone.
For Orlando Pace, a pancake was a statement. In 1996, his junior year, he recorded 80 of them. That is nearly seven per game where he literally put a Big Ten defender on his back and left them there. He wasn't just blocking them out of the play; he was removing their will to play the rest of the game. If you watch the 1995 Illinois game, he had 10 pancakes in a single afternoon. Ten. That’s an entire defensive line's worth of dignity gone in four quarters.
The Heisman Race and the "No Sack" Streak
Let’s talk about 1996. It’s arguably the greatest season any offensive lineman has ever had in the history of college football.
- He finished 4th in the Heisman Trophy voting. To put that in perspective, that was the highest finish for a lineman since 1973.
- He didn't allow a single sack. Not one.
- He didn't allow a sack in 1995, either.
That’s two straight years of playing high-level Power 5 football where his quarterback never touched the grass because of his guy. It's a stat that sounds fake. When you’re blocking for a Heisman winner like Eddie George and a prolific passer like Bobby Hoying, the target on your back is huge. Yet, Pace was a vacuum.
He won the Lombardi Award twice—the first player to ever do that. He grabbed the Outland Trophy. He was the Big Ten Player of the Year. Basically, he ran out of room on his trophy shelf before he even turned 21.
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Why He Was the Unquestioned No. 1 Pick
When the 1997 NFL Draft rolled around, there was zero debate. The St. Louis Rams traded up with the New York Jets to get the number one overall pick because they knew Pace was a generational cornerstone. You don't trade the farm for a tackle unless he’s a sure thing.
Pace was a sure thing.
He went on to anchor "The Greatest Show on Turf." He protected Kurt Warner and opened holes for Marshall Faulk. He won a Super Bowl. He made seven straight Pro Bowls. But if you talk to the guys who played with him in Columbus, they’ll tell you his college days were even more impressive because the talent gap between him and everyone else was just so... massive.
The Legacy of Number 75 in Columbus
Walking through the Woody Hayes Athletic Center today, you still feel the shadow of Orlando Pace. He’s in the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He’s one of only three Buckeyes to be in both (joining legends Bill Willis and Jim Parker).
He proved that an offensive lineman could be a superstar. He made the "boring" part of football the most exciting thing on the Saturday broadcast. Whenever a commentator mentions a pancake block today, they are unknowingly paying homage to a kid from Sandusky who decided that nobody was going to touch his quarterback.
How to Watch Orlando Pace Like a Pro
If you want to actually appreciate what he did, don't just watch the ball. Go find old Ohio State tape from '95 or '96 on YouTube.
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- Watch his hands. Notice how he resets them. He never let defenders get into his chest.
- Look at the "second level" blocks. See how fast he gets away from the line of scrimmage to hunt down linebackers.
- Check the 1997 Rose Bowl. Watch how he handled Arizona State's pass rushers. It was a masterclass in staying calm under pressure.
Orlando Pace didn't just play for Ohio State; he set the standard for what every Buckeye lineman since has been trying to live up to. Most of them will tell you: there’s only one Pancake Man.
To truly understand the impact Pace had, look at the rushing stats of the backs who ran behind him. Eddie George's 1,927-yard season in 1995 wasn't just about Eddie's talent—it was about a 6-foot-7 shield clearing the path. If you are coaching young linemen today, show them Pace's 1996 highlights. It is the gold standard for technique, aggression, and pure athletic dominance.