Deshawn Pace says leaving UC football team wasn't his decision

The top tackler for the University of Cincinnati football team will not return for 2024 and it wasn't all of his decision.

Senior Deshawn Pace, a 6-foot-2, 212-pound hybrid linebacker/defensive back (star position) was one of the Bearcats honored on Senior Night before the Kansas game. However, it was noted several players had eligibility remaining and could return.

Pace, who led the team with 80 tackles, 11 tackles for loss and had 1.5 sacks was one who could return. He played in 11 of UC's 12 games, missing the Oklahoma game while suspended for an unspecified violation of team rules.

Tuesday afternoon, on a day several Bearcats announced their departures, the player coined "The Joker" joined the fray and it wasn't a joke.

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Deshawn Pace isn't returning to UC, who made the call?

"It really wasn't a decision," Pace said. "I was more likely to be told. It's all good. It's just football. They said it's a business."

The UC coaching staff planned to have one-on-one meetings with players to determine who might return, but in college, it's a two-way street. UC coach Scott Satterfield has 22 high school signees coming Dec. 20 and has said the Bearcats plan to add 12-14 through the increasingly populated transfer portal.

Pace didn't pay attention to his phone much after his announcement, but hopes he might hear from Marcus Freeman of Notre Dame and Luke Fickell of Wisconsin, the coaches he mentioned in his parting post. Freeman was the defensive coordinator under Fickell at UC who recruited him out of Colerain High School.

"I've got one final year," Pace said. "I'll give it my all."

Losing was something new for Deshawn Pace

While Pace's defensive numbers were solid, the Bearcats were just 3-9 and 1-8 in their inaugural Big 12 games. At Colerain and in his previous seasons at UC, Pace had not been part of a losing season.

"I think we just weren't bonded as a team," he said of 2023 campaign. "We didn't have the fine structure of great coaching."

Clearly in this case, Pace and the staff weren't on the same page.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati football's Deshawn Pace enters transfer portal