BROOKLYN, NY — Former ASA College Football defensive standout Gilbert Pena made history for ASA on Saturday, becoming the first Avenger to make it to the National Football League (NFL) after signing with the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent.

Pena will join a franchise in Green Bay that has won 13 NFL Championships, including four Super Bowls. The Packers’ most recent title came in 2010 after defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV. Green Bay finished the 2012 season with an 11-5 record and advanced to the NFC Divisional Round as the conference’s No. 3 seed before falling to eventual NFC champion San Francisco.

Pena earned First Team All-Northeast Conference honors at ASA in 2010 after recording 41 tackles, 17.0 TFLs and 5.0 sacks, while nearly leading the 7-3 Avengers to a NEFC title in their first season in the conference.

At Ole Miss, Pena played in 23 games with six starts at nose tackle during his two-year Rebel career. As a senior, he racked up 34 tackles, 2.0 sacks and 6.5 TFLs and was invited to play in the Raycom College All-Star Classic after the season.

ASA College and Avengers Athletics are proud of Gilbert for this milestone accomplishment!

Below are links from around the web regarding Gilbert’s signing:

Five Rebels Sign With NFL Teams (OleMissSports.com)

Packers undrafted free agency 2013: Tracking the pickups (SB Nation/Acme Packing Co.)

2013 Wes Welker Watch List: Potential impact undrafted free agents (Sports Illustrated)