Fourth-year linebacker A.J. Pena broke the University of Rhode Island football program’s career sacks record on Oct. 18, while also smashing his single-game career high that he set in his freshman year.

Pena put up four sacks against the University at Albany in URI’s 58-17 blowout win, tying the Rams’ record for sacks in a single game. He was already tied for the second-highest mark, recording 3.5 sacks against Bryant University in 2022.

“A.J. started with a very high bar,” Rhode Island Head Coach Jim Fleming said. “It was a sign of things to come.”

Frank Ferrara’s ’99 sack record had stood since the 1998 season, but it wasn’t his only record reached by Pena this year. Pena toppled the career tackles-for-loss record on Sept. 20 against Long Island University.

“I don’t think about [setting records] because I expect them to happen from my hard work,” Pena said. “I’m happy as hell to be number one in those categories, but I want another ring.”

After last year’s Coastal Athletic Association championship-winning season with the Rams, Pena entered the transfer portal. His time with Rhode Island seemingly ended with his commitment to the University of Memphis in December 2024, until he returned to URI in April during the spring transfer window.

“When you look at a person of A.J.’s stature, he certainly would have been a very successful player down in Memphis,” Fleming said. “This was home for him; he felt most comfortable here and was very loyal to coming back to help us try to repeat as champions.”

The Associated Press First Team All-American garnered plenty of interest from other schools, but the chance to build on his legacy played no small role in the reunion.

“I could have went anywhere in the country,” Pena said. “I came back here because of the opportunity that I had [and] the people who genuinely care about me and who want to see me succeed at the next level, not just for one year at their own convenience.”

Back in the fold, his teammates voted him as one of the team’s four captains ahead of the season.

“I thought he could [be a captain] walking in as a freshman,” Fleming said. “He just was a very tenacious football player that had to grow and mature like every other person that comes to college as an 18-year-old.”

Throughout four years starting on defense, Pena has grown into the emotional leader of the defense, if not the whole team, according to Fleming.

“Being the captain, it’s more than just a captain logo; you have to represent yourself in the highest of standards, on the field and off the field,” Pena said. “It matters. I was so young and naive when I was younger, and I couldn’t see that.”

Captaining the defense alongside third-year defensive lineman Case Mankins, the Rams hold a top-25 defense in the Football Championship Subdivision and are top three in the nation in sacks.

After three different Rams had earned CAA Defensive Player of the Week honors during the season, it was finally Pena’s turn following his four-sack day. He collected the conference honor, as well as the Stats Perform FCS National Defensive Player of the Week for the first time in program history.

“His contributions have been steady all throughout the year,” Fleming said. “He sacrifices to be able to play interior defensive line at times. It takes him off the edge and takes him a little bit out of his playmaking ability early in the season because the team needed it.”

With three regular season games remaining along with a potential postseason run, Pena has time to add on to his legacy-defining career statistics.

“I’m trying to cement this record so nobody will ever touch it,” Pena said. “Pass it when I die.”

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