The on-field backflip out of nowhere in Las Vegas surprised everybody except the person tantalizingly twirling his body through the air.

It has become a signature move for Vikings rookie linebacker Ivan Pace Jr.

He used to do it in high school whenever he got the chance, then brought it with him to college, wowing the home crowd at the University of Cincinnati before games with his acrobatics. Naturally, he brought it with him to the NFL, busting it out for the first time last Sunday after an his interception helped the Vikings seal a 3-0 road win over the Raiders.

“I’ve been doing backflips in full equipment my whole life,” he said. “It ain’t hard.”

That response elicited a chuckle from Luke Fickell, the former head coach at Cincinnati, who remembers how effortless Pace used to make everything look on the field,

“That’s who he is,” said Fickell, the current head coach at the University of Wisconsin. “The things that are not normal for some of us are normal for him.”

Like committing to the Miami (Ohio) University, then tying an NCAA record with six sacks in a game as a true freshman. Like transferring to the University of Cincinnati, then turning himself into a unanimous All American. Like being passed over by every team in the 2023 NFL Draft, then establishing himself among the best defensive rookies in the league.

No matter how much he has been overlooked, Pace has always proved his doubters wrong.

“I ain’t never been surprised,” he said. “I know how good I am. I’ve been showing the world since I was young that I’m good. Now I’m here in the league and still proving it.”

His journey will be bring him back to his hometown of Cincinnati this weekend with the Vikings set to play the Bengals on Saturday afternoon at Paycor Stadium. He is the reigning NFC Defensive Player of the Week after he posted 13 tackles, a sack and an interception, and is perhaps a good money bet to win NFC Defensive Rookie of the Year.

Coincidentally, the game between the Vikings and Bengals falls on his 23rd birthday, and Pace estimated he has been asked to procure 40 to 50 tickets for the occasion.

“It’s a blessing to be here,” he said. “Nothing is promised to anybody.”

Especially not to Pace.

Never mind that he has long been a human wrecking ball on the field that has dominated at every stage of his career. He’s been reduced to his 5-foot-10, 230-pound frame at every turn. It’s the only reason he wasn’t a highly recruited player coming out of Colerain High School in Cincinnati.

“Everything nowadays is, ‘What does this guy look like on paper?’ ” said Carl Huber, the current head football coach at Colerain High School. “He’s had the ‘It Factor’ since he’s been a little kid. He just needs a chance to put the pads on and actually play the game. Everything else takes care of itself.”

The miscalculation of Pace still bothers Chuck Martin, the head coach at Miami (Ohio) University, who ended up benefiting from everybody else’s stubbornness. He can still recall with great detail the times he sat in the stands at Colerain High School and watched Pace take over a game.

“He was so damn explosive,” Martin remembered. “He played defense and nobody could block him. He played offense and nobody could tackle him. Just a freak of nature.”

As far as Martin was concerned, he was fighting an uphill battle trying to recruit Pace. Surely, it was only a matter of time before Ohio State came calling, right? There was no chance Martin was going to be able to compete whenever the bigger programs inevitably started reaching out to Pace.

“I’m sitting there on the hope that we might have a chance,” Martin said. “Literally, as I’m watching him play, I’m thinking to myself, ‘We’ve got no chance at this kid.’ Everybody knew he was the best player on the field. He never got another scholarship offer, and the next thing I know, he’s committing to us.”

It wasn’t long before Pace started to prove the bigger schools made a mistake. Though he started out as as a backup at Miami (Ohio), he consistently found his way onto the field as a situational pass rusher. His breakout moment came against the University of Akron, as Pace tied an NCAA record with six sacks that game, forcing Martin to give him more playing time in the process.

The confidence from Pace was unmistakable every time he emerged from the tunnel. The only time that confidence waned was when Martin asked him to be on his radio show. To this day, Pace isn’t too keen on doing interviews, much preferring to let his play do the talking.

“That was the only time I ever saw him nervous,” Martin said. “It’s weird because he so uncomfortable doing that stuff, yet if we put him on the field in front of 100,000 people, nobody is more confident than him.”

Eventually, Pace transferred to the University of Cincinnati, playing for Fickell, who admitted he probably should have gone after him harder the first time. Not surprisingly, Pace still had prove himself once he joined the Bearcats, penciled in as the backup heading into the first game against the University of Arkansas. He still ended up finishing with 12 tackles, a sack and 3 1/2 tackles for a loss.

“We were like, ‘Holy cow,’ ” Fickell said. “We moved him to middle linebacker and he wasn’t the backup anymore.”

As far as Fickell was concerned, the thing that separates Pace from his peers is his instincts after the ball is snapped. It’s not uncommon to see Pace shoot a gap with perfect precision and blow up a play in the offensive backfield. He has been more or less unblockable everywhere he’s been.

“There are some guys that slow down when they know there’s going to be a collision on the other end,” Fickell said. “He speeds up when he knows there’s going to be a collision on the other end.”

To say Pace went on to dominate for the University of Cincinnati would be putting it lightly. He finished with 137 tackles, 10 sacks and 21 1/2 tackles for a loss on his way to being named a unanimous All American. He was rated as the No. 1 linebacker in the NCAA by Pro Football Focus.

No matter. It was a similar story after Pace declared for the 2023 NFL Draft. The fact that he was undersized seemed to supersede his production on the field. He went undrafted and ultimately decided to sign with the Vikings for a guaranteed $236,000.

“I’ve got a best friend who’s a head coach in the NFL,” Fickell said. “I don’t ever say, ‘You have to take this guy.’ I was kicking myself for not saying it this time. I never said anything because I never would’ve imagined that he wouldn’t get drafted.”

As soon as Pace got to the Vikings, he stared to turn heads, impressing defensive coordinator Brian Flores with his will to get better.

“I feel like we talk about Ivan every week.” Flores said. “To me, it’s not about why he didn’t get drafted, it’s about what he did after he wasn’t drafted,. He came in and did a great job right from the moment he got here. He earned his opportunity on this team, and he’s taken advantage of it.”

After beginning this season as the backup, Pace has taken over as the starter, with veteran linebacker Jordan Hicks on injured reserve.

That sound familiar?

As for Pace, asked when he knew his play would translate to the next level, he confidently said it was the moment every team in the NFL decided he wasn’t good enough.

“I said at the time, ‘Y’all done effed up,’ ” Pace said. “Now I’m showing them. I knew I had that dog in me. It’s always been there.”

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