BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- After just one week of play, Jacob Erickson's decision to return to Newberg for one more season has already paid off.

The fifth-year defensive end built off of his All-American senior season right from the get-go, recording a sack on the first play of the season and a TFL on the next. Erickson, who became the program record holder for sacks in a game, season, and career in 2025, started his 2026 campaign with five tackles, four of which were for loss, two sacks, and one pass breakup.  Thanks to the DE's performance, the Bruins recorded their first shutout win in eight years, defeating Redlands, 27-0. For this performance, the defensive star was not only named NWC Defensive Student-Athlete of the Week, but also to the D3football.com Team of the Week.

It's the second career Team of the Week nod for the defensive end after a record five-sack performance against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in September 2025. With the honor, Erickson becomes the second Bruin to pick up a Team of the Week honor twice in his career following Charles Riga, who was named in back-to-back weeks in 2017.

It's also the second time that Erickson has been named the NWC Defensive Student-Athlete of the Week (the other time also being for his five-sack game). Erickson was joined by Kenyon Johnson and Andrew O'Dell of Linfield as the weekly football award winners.

The Bruins will be back in action with another night game against Lewis & Clark in the Oregon Cup Championship. Kick-off for the game at Stoffer Family Stadium is at 7:05 pm.