RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The Southland Conference (SLC) announced player of the week awards on Monday and The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros football team had two honorees in junior quarterback Aidan Jakobsohn, the Offensive Player of the Week, and junior linebacker Jaiden Haygood, the Defensive Player of the Week. 
 
Jakobsohn picked up his first SLC Offensive Player of the Week award after a three-touchdown performance to lead UTRGV to a 27-10 victory over McNeese at Robert & Janet Vackar Stadium. Jakobsohn came off the bench after an injury in the first quarter and finished 10-for-20 with 137 yards and one touchdown in the air to go with 65 yards and two touchdowns rushing. 
 
The quarterback showed off his accuracy as he hit receivers in tight windows, including on a four-yard touchdown pass to Kyran Lee with two defenders in tight coverage in the end zone. Jakobsohn's athleticism shined as he scrambled away from pressure and juked out defenders. He hit a spin move to beat a defender on a seven-yard keeper for his first rushing touchdown, diving to the end zone and breaking the plane at full extension. He scored from three yards out late in the third quarter, following the offensive line which created a wide gap for the score. 
 
Jakobsohn and the UTRGV offense accumulated 488 yards of offense in Saturday's win, the second-most against McNeese of any opponent this season behind only #4/5 Tarleton State. 
 
Haygood earned his first SLC Defensive Player of the Week award after anchoring a defensive effort which held McNeese to a season-low 279 yards. The linebacker was all over the field, totaling 13 tackles, including two tackles for loss, and his first career interception. 
 
Haygood had back-to-back solo tackles during a McNeese drive early in the fourth quarter, helping to force a turnover on downs and shut down the Cowboys in the red zone after they generated some momentum. Later in the fourth, Haygood made a great read on a play, changed direction and high-pointed an interception, snagging the pass just before it hit the target's hands. 
 
Haygood and the Vaqueros defense limited the McNeese quarterbacks to a 41.2 pass completion percentage and didn't allow a run over 12 yards – both are lowest marks in any Southland Conference game this season. 
 
The Vaqueros (2-2, 1-1) are open this week and will be back in action Oct. 3 at 6 p.m. at East Texas A&M. 

Support UTRGV Vaqueros™ | Become a Fan on Facebook | Follow us on X | Follow us on Instagram | Follow us on YouTube