Andrew Jared Epenesa is a defensive end who plays American football for the Buffalo Bills, who competes in the National Football League. He attended Iowa during his undergraduate football career before being selected by the Bills in the second round of the NFL Draft in 2020.
While he was a student at Edwardsville High School in Edwardsville, Illinois, Epenesa earned All-American honors in two different sports. These sports were football and track.
After relocating from American Samoa, his father, Eppy, joined the University of Iowa football team as a walk-on, and A. J. exhibited a preference for Iowa throughout the entirety of the recruitment process.
On January 17, 2016, Epenesa made his college choice public, committing to Iowa. He earned the distinction of being Iowa’s highest-rated recruit ever to play for a team coached by Kirk Ferentz. After finishing his senior year, he participated in the Army All-American Bowl as well as the Polynesian Bowl.
In addition, Epenesa won the Illinois state discus throw championship both in his junior and senior years.
Epenesa was chosen by the Buffalo Bills in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft. On May 7, 2020, he signed a contract with the Bills that was worth $5.877 million over four years. The deal also included a signing bonus of $1.834 million.
Epenesa had his first career sack in Week 3 of the 2020 season, which was a 35–32 victory over the Los Angeles Rams. He recorded the sack by making a tackle on quarterback Jared Goff during the first quarter of the game.
What race is AJ Epenesa?
The race of Epenesa is Samoan. Epenesa’s father, Eppy, is from America Samoa, and moved to the Midwest for a football career that includes walking on at Iowa as a defensive lineman. Epenesa has described himself as “a big Samoan boy raised in the Midwest.”