Marengo graduate Jonah Pace transfers to Iowa

Changing his body and position on the field proved beneficial for Jonah Pace. Now he hopes a change of scenery will benefit him as he continues to grow as a football player.

The former Marengo star, who enjoyed a breakout season as a three-technique defensive tackle for Central Michigan University in the fall, announced in early December that he was entering the NCAA transfer portal. He committed to Iowa before the holidays and will have one year of college eligibility left.

“The reason I chose to leave [CMU] does not have anything to do with the program,” said Pace, who was back home in Marengo over the holidays, training regularly at NX Level Sports Performance in Wisconsin with founder Brad Arnett. “I love Central Michigan. It’s where I grew up. It’s where I became a man. I learned from those coaches there.”

Central Michigan went 4-8, including 2-6 in the Mid-American Conference, this past season under coach Jim McElwain, who announced in November that he was retiring at season’s end. McElwain had been CMU’s coach since 2019 and formerly served as head coach at Florida and Colorado State.

“Coach McElwain retired and with that there were a lot of coaching changes,” Pace said. “I thought it was in my best interest to hop in [the transfer portal] and see what was out there.”

At Iowa, Pace will learn under two other longtime college football coaches in Kirk Ferentz and Kelvin Bell. Ferentz has been Iowa’s head coach since 1999 and is the program’s all-time leader in wins, while Bell, a former Hawkeyes player, has served as the team’s defensive line coach for the past six seasons. Ferentz and Bell helped Iowa go 8-5 (6-3 Big Ten) in 2024. Iowa lost to Missouri in the Music City Bowl on Dec. 30.

“The reason I chose to leave [CMU] does not have anything to do with the program. I love Central Michigan. It’s where I grew up. It’s where I became a man. I learned from those coaches there.”

—  Jonah Pace, 2021 Marengo grad

Former Iowa defensive players in the NFL include the Packers’ Lukas Van Ness, the Lions' Jack Campbell, the Bills' A.J. Epenesa and the Eagles' Cooper DeJean.

“They know how to put people into the League,” Pace said of Ferentz and Bell.

Pace, a 2021 graduate of Marengo and three-time Northwest Herald All-Area selection, listed three criteria when looking for a new college.

“I wanted to go somewhere where I was going to be coached hard, I wanted to go somewhere where I knew I could make an impact, and I wanted to go somewhere where the coaches were going to help me get to the next level,” Pace said. “Iowa checked all of those boxes.”

Pace stands 6-feet-5 and weighs 285 pounds, a far cry from when he arrived at Central Michigan in 2021.

“I’m looking to go up still,” Pace said. “I came into Central as a defensive end and at about 229 [pounds], and I worked my way up. I was behind many, many great guys.”

Those CMU athletes included current NFL players Thomas Incoom (Panthers) and Troy Hairston (Texans). Two years ago, Pace moved inside on the defensive line and continued to learn as he sat behind “more great people,” he said.

“I’ve learned so much from those guys and I was able to put that into the season,” Pace said. “I was able to grow from 229 [pounds] to 260, and then I went up to 275 two years ago.”

NX Level, which is based out of Waukesha, helped get Pace’s weight up to 285 pounds and sustain it during the 2024 season, he said. As Central Michigan’s three-technique tackle, the redshirt junior started all 12 games. He totaled 34 tackles (19 solo), including 11 for loss, four sacks, six quarterback hurries, two pass breakups, a forced fumble and a blocked kick.

“My body has been transformed from when I first got there to now,” Pace said. “It’s just crazy.”