Orlando Pace accomplished what he set out to do, becoming one of the best offensive tackles in the NFL. At 6-foot-7, he had the wingspan to ward off pass rushers, at 325 pounds he had the bulk for the power game, plus he was amazingly light on his feet.

“He’s cut from a different cloth,” former St. Louis Rams teammate D’Marco Farr said. “Canton is built for guys like him.”

There is one small regret for the new Pro Football Hall of Famer.

Though he played an outsized role in the Greatest Show on Turf with the assemblage of high-octane talent that produced two Super Bowl teams and a championship with the St. Louis Rams from 1999-2001, the soft-spoken, five-time All-Pro never made it to the end zone.

“I did get a little jealous when I see Ryan Tucker score, and some other guys, too,” Pace said.

Though head coach Mike Martz was somewhat receptive to the idea of giving Pace the ball in the second Super Bowl season, offensive line coach Jim Hanifan nixed the tackle-eligible hijinks, judging Pace too much of a vital cog to risk injury.

“He didn’t want me to catch the ball, he didn’t want me to get hurt,” Pace said. “He vetoed all those thoughts and all those special plays.”