Code red: Pace wants to play with more urgency in 2019

You’ve probably seen JR Pace’s hair on social media by now. He dyed the ends of his dreadlocks a bright red this summer, just in time for the start of camp. It gives him a whimsical quality, part Sideshow Bob and part Raggedy Andy, and one that’s very different than his fast, physical style of play on the field.

The junior safety said that the new hair style wasn’t an impulsive decision. He thought about it for a while.

“I used to, when I was younger, just do different things with my hair,” he explained. “But I just picked red because I was feeling it a little bit. I just wanted to do something different, just switch it up.”

Why not purple? “We wear enough purple,” he said. “I didn’t want to overdo it with the purple.”

Whether or not you like the new look is a matter of personal taste. Travis Whillock, Pace’s partner in the last line of Northwestern’s defense, said he’s a big fan.

“Love it,” said the redshirt junior from Texas. “Red and purple, that’s a good look to me.” Plus, he says, it fits Pace’s personality. “He’s just a social butterfly. Great personality. I’m all for it. That’s just a 10 out of 10 for me.”

Pace may have not been thinking about his play on the field when he chose his new hair color, but it might come in handy reminding him of his goal for 2019. Despite coming off of a season in which he picked off four passes and made honorable mention All-Big Ten, Pace wants to be a more aggressive player in 2019.

And nothing serves as a better signal to be aggressive than the color red.

“There were too many times last year where I was just kind of casual on the field,” said Pace, who prepped at College Park (Ga.) Woodward Academy. “It’s something I’ve battled with my whole career. I started to really hunker down and realize what it was to play with urgency consistently... Being able to fly around all the time and make every play.”

Pace explained that it wasn’t a matter of him taking plays off last season. He just thinks that a little extra urgency will help him keep up with the pace (pun intended) of the game.

“You’ve gotta realize, especially at this level, things happen so fast and you’ve gotta make so many adjustments, you’ve gotta make so many calls. You have to be urgent, you can’t be lackadaisical, just loafing around, because things happen fast."

As Pace explained it, safeties are "the quarterbacks of the defense" because they have to make a lot of the calls to get the whole unit aligned properly before the snap.

"We have to make calls to the linebackers, who have to get them down to the D-line," he said. "So it’s key that we’re on the same page so that one half of the defense isn’t playing one coverage and the other half isn’t playing another coverage."

Once the ball is snapped, Pace thinks that "building that urgency to my game, consistently, every play, will help me play faster and make plays.”

Northwestern fans may be scratching their heads about this one. Pace made an awful lot of plays for the Wildcats last year.

His four interceptions led the team and were second-most in the Big Ten last season. He also finished second on the team with 11 passes defensed (behind cornerback Montre Hartage’s 15) and third with 82 tackles (behind linebackers Blake Gallagher and Paddy Fisher).

Pace made a career-high 11 tackles against Michigan, picked off a career-best two passes against Nebraska and then amassed seven tackles, one interception and a 34-yard fumble return to win the Defensive MVP award in the Holiday Bowl win over Utah.

“JR’s the man,” is how Whillock put it. Off the field, he says that Pace has “definitely got a personality in the best way possible. He’s just a light. I just love being around him.” And on the field, “He does some great things. He’s very instinctual, I think, when reading the quarterback or coming down in run support. So I’m super excited to see what he’s going to do this year.”

So is Pace, though he bristles at the name Whillock gave him. He thinks that Whillock often shows more of the aggressiveness that he'd like to add to his game than he does.

“I don’t know if I’m the man,” he said with a chuckle. “There’s a few people on this team I could give that title. But I pride myself on making plays, being instinctual, finding different ways to get to the football.”

He might find even more ways this season if his attitude matches the color of his dreads.