Forging His Own Path: Landon Pace Ready to Make an Impact at Wyoming
- Jeff Bugher
- Aug 16
- 6 min read
LARAMIE, Wyo. - Landon Pace wants to make his own name in Wyoming. Yet, when it comes to blocking, the redshirt freshman tight end has one of football's greatest teachers waiting at home.
His father, Orlando Pace, built a Hall of Fame career in the trenches, playing at Ohio State before becoming the No. 1 overall pick in the 1997 NFL Draft and spending most of his professional career with the St. Louis Rams.
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Does he play on the offensive line? No, Landon chose a position that allows him to do more than just block.
At 6-foot-3 and 247 pounds, Pace feels playing tight end allows him to combine the physicality he developed playing along the offensive line when he was younger with his ability to contribute in the passing game.
“I think just with my size and my skill set, I think I could both help in the receiving and the blocking game,” Pace said. “Just to be a little different from him in that, I think it would just be something different.”
Pace grew up playing on the offensive line before eventually moving to tight end, where he found a position that better suited what he wanted to do on the field.
“I think playing tight end, it’s a lot more fun to get to open up and run a lot more,” Pace said.
Learning From a Hall of Fame Father
Choosing a different position hasn't stopped Pace from tapping into his father's expertise.
When their conversations turn to blocking, Landon listens.
“I definitely take his blocking tips,” Pace said.
“If he ever gives me receiving tips, I'm just like, ‘okay,’” Pace said with a laugh.
Those lessons often focus on the small details that helped Orlando become one of the premier offensive linemen in the NFL.
“He definitely gives me some good blocking tips to get my footwork right... and my hand placement and hat placement and just move people honestly,” Pace said.
When the two are together, they'll occasionally sit down and study film.
“We'll watch film every now and then once I see him in person,” Pace said. “He'll give me some tips and tricks, stuff like that. So it's definitely been helpful. I'm grateful.”
Born in 2006, Landon was too young to remember much of his father's NFL career firsthand. Landon tells PokesNews.com that he has back watched old footage of Orlando's playing days.
He does have a very special memory from after his Father's playing career was over.
Landon was there in Canton, Ohio, in 2016 when his father was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
“It was a great time. Met some great people.”
A Redshirt Year of Learning
Pace's first year in Laramie in 2025 gave him the chance to watch and learn.
“I think the redshirt year honestly helped a lot,” Pace said. “I feel like I'm just playing so much faster this year.”
Pace spent the season observing an experienced Wyoming tight end room that included two players who are currently on NFL training camp rosters: John Michael Gyllenborg and Evan Svoboda. Their preparation showed Pace how much work away from the field goes into playing fast once the ball is snapped.
“I got to experience how people like Evan Svoboda and John Michael Gyllenborg and how much they were in the playbook,” Pace said. “I think just knowing the playbook helps you play so much faster and see the defense faster and just stuff like that.”
Gyllenborg became an especially important example for Pace.
Both came to Wyoming from Missouri and attended Jesuit high schools, giving them something in common when Pace arrived in Laramie.
“I kind of like to model my work ethic after John Michael Gyllenborg, because he had a great work ethic, honestly.”
Pace said Gyllenborg wasn't necessarily the loudest voice in the room, but when he spoke, the younger tight end listened.
Moore Sees a Player Who Wants to Learn
Wyoming tight ends coach Shannon Moore has watched Pace's development.
“Number one, he's a great kid,” Moore said. “The thing I love about him in the meeting room is that he's always asking questions, always wants to know the why, always wants to know what he can get better at.”
Moore sees Pace as someone still absorbing everything he can about the position.
“He is still in that stage where he just wants to be a sponge and soak it all in and take in everything that he can,” Moore said.
Pace can also be demanding of himself when something doesn't go according to plan.
“He gets frustrated with himself if he doesn't do something as good as he thinks he should have,” Moore said. “So he's hard on himself in that regard, but not so hard that if he makes a mistake, he just goes into the tank.”
Off the field, Moore sees a personality teammates naturally gravitate toward. When football starts, however, Pace can flip the switch.
Pace can crack a joke and keep a meeting room loose, but Moore said there's also a businesslike side to him.
“When it's time to go in his business, like he does a really good job of just being in that mode and attacking it just like that,” Moore said.
A Role Waiting in Wyoming's New Offense
Wyoming's offense under new offensive coordinator Christian Taylor is expected to find different ways to utilize its tight ends, and Moore said Taylor and head coach Jay Sawvel want the flexibility to use multiple-tight-end personnel.
“Whatever we [the tight end room] can do in our offense, we're going to find a way,” Moore said. “He's going to find a way to utilize that.”
Moore said that could mean tight ends catching screens, lining up in different spots, or contributing in the running game.
“We talk a lot in our offensive meetings about how we're just a positionless offense,” Moore said. “What's your role going to be and then it's going to be your job to just keep expanding that role.”
Pace likes what he's seen.
“He uses the tight ends very well in different positions, and he knows our skill,” Pace said of Taylor. “He's really good at knowing our skill sets and using them to the best of our ability, putting us in the right spots to succeed and the best ways we can win, any way we can win. So I'm super excited about this year.”
Moore said that Pace is a part of those plans.
“Landon Pace is going to have a role for us and everything that we want to do with him week in and week out,” Moore said.
“Everybody's also going to have their role and certain packages and certain plays that they've got to make sure they go in and execute too,” Moore said. “This year we might have the ability to play a little bit more than that.”
Pace Loves Playing Tight End
Landon's favorite part about playing tight end? Blocking.
“Honestly, I like blocking more, just putting my face on someone,” Pace said. “There's no better feeling than imposing a man against his own will.”
Pace has combined his offensive-line background with the versatility required at tight end. Just because he really likes to block doesn't mean Pace isn't a receiving threat. Just Google his name for highlights.
“I feel like I'm pretty decent at finding space and just catching the ball, just trying to be physical,” Pace said. “Once I catch the ball, I get people out of my way. I’m not scared of contact.”
Forging His Own Path
“I just want to go out every practice, every game to the best of my ability, just be the best version of me and just keep growing from there.”
He believes production will follow if he handles everything else correctly.
“I think once that happens, the rest will take care of itself,” Pace said. “I don't think numbers really, really mean much. We’re just trying to win football games.”
Landon Pace may play a different position and follow his own path. Still, when he talks about the satisfaction of moving a defender against his will, it's not difficult to see where at least part of his football identity came from.
About the Author:
Jeff Bugher is a third-generation Wyomingite living in Casper. He is a sportswriter and Wyoming Cowboys/Cowgirls enthusiast who is a member of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA ) and the National Sports Media Association (NSMA). Jeff's work has been cited by Sports Illustrated, one of the world's leading sports publications.
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