PFF Names Ivan Pace Jr., Dontay Corleone Top-101 Players Nationally

The two stars had a huge defensive impact last season.

CINCINNATI — PFF released its top 101 players from the 2022 college football season and two Bearcats made the list: linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. and defensive tackle Dontay Corleone.

Pace was incredible in 2022, becoming the first unanimous All-American in team history. He slotted in at No. 20 overall.

"The Miami (OH) transfer wasted no time getting comfortable with the Bearcats," PFF wrote. "He was effective from Day 1 and posted some of the best statistics among all defenders in college this year. Leading all linebackers with a 93.2 grade, Pace was everywhere on the field this season. He was dominant against both the run and pass, tallying 136 total tackles along with 12 sacks."

He is projected as a late-round pick and landed among Dane Brugler's top-15 linebackers in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Corleone was a soul-sucker in the middle of UC's defense, stifling rushing attacks all season long. No defensive player in college football had a higher 2022 PFF grade than Corleone.

He ranked 91st on the list.

"Corleone’s 93.8 PFF grade was the highest of any FBS defender this past season," PFF wrote. "For a defensive tackle, he is as good as it gets at stopping the run, having missed only two tackles the entire season. The only knock on Corleone is that he was mostly a two-down defender this year due to some minor injuries. If he can become a three-down guy, he will surely be much higher on this list in 2023."

The redshirt freshman is returning to lead the "Blackcats" defense next season under Bryan Brown's new-look scheme.

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