From a lowly recruited high schooler to spending six months at Milford Academy to joining Rhode Island’s record book, A.J. Pena has navigated quite the football journey. His next stop? The FBS.
Where Will A.J. Pena Transfer?
Pena entered the transfer portal following a 163-tackle, 44.5-tackle for loss, and 27-sack career at Rhode Island.
At 6’2″ and 243 pounds, the FCS All-American and Buck Buchanan Award finalist has the resume and skill set to make the jump to the FBS in his final year of eligibility.
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Following three straight first-team all-conference selections at Somerville High School in New Jersey, Pena played a fall season at Milford Academy, a post-graduate school located in Upstate New York. He parlayed his success there into an opportunity with the Rams and hit the ground running.
As a hybrid outside linebacker, he has the pass-rushing ability, coverage skill set, and strong tackling to thrive at the next level, and FBS programs have certainly taken notice. So far, Pena has received offers from Boston College, Coastal Carolina, Arkansas State, FAU, and several others — including most of the projected landing spots below.
Wisconsin Badgers
Pena has already told 247Sports that he plans on visiting the Wisconsin Badgers soon. The program has become an OLB factory, but it’s coming off a 5-7 campaign in Year 2 of the Luke Fickell era.
The Badgers just had success with an FCS-to-FBS transfer in OLB John Pius, and they’ll need reinforcements at the position with Leon Lwory in the portal and Pius and Aaron Witt out of eligibility.
Illinois Fighting Illini
The Illinois Fighting Illini are another Big Ten program Pena expects to visit this offseason. The program has enjoyed a resurgence under Bret Bielema, hitting a new high in 2024 with a 9-3 regular season record.
He built his career on defensive dominance, especially with linebackers and defensive linemen. If anyone can get the most out of Pena in one year, it is Bielema and Co.
Oregon Ducks
Dan Lanning’s Oregon Ducks are the No. 1 team in the nation — Pena wouldn’t mind flipping coasts to join his program.
There’s also a small connection with star OT Ajani Cornelius, who played at Rhode Island in 2022. Perhaps he details his practice sparrings with Pena as a pitch to Lanning?
Group of Five East Coast FBS Programs
If Pena wants instant playing time — near his hometown, no less — then the Connecticut Huskies, Massachusetts Minutemen, and Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens make the most sense.
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UConn and Delaware are the most appealing landing spots of the three. Jim More has revived the Huskies’ football team, guiding them to an 8-4 record in 2024. Meanwhile, Delaware will make the jump to the FBS by joining the CUSA in 2025, and it has routinely been one of the stronger FCS programs.
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Although the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets haven’t offered Pena (yet), they could show interest because of one person: Tim Salem.
Salem, a senior football advisor to head coach Brent Key, was one of the few Power Four coaches to target Pena as a high school recruit and even hosted him on a visit in 2019.
Of course, that was five years ago, but the familiarity could be a plus, and it helps that the Yellow Jackets are coming off back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 2013-14.
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