Quarterback Eric Gibson Jr. of Northern Colorado headlines this week’s nominees for player of the week honors by the Colorado Chapter of the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame.
A 6-1, 210-pound junior from Norfolk, Va., Gibson led the Bears to a 49-33 Big Sky Conference win over 11th-ranked Idaho in Moscow, where he completed 22 of 34 passes for 350 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. The 49 points were the most in Coach Ed Lamb’s stint in Greeley.
In directing an offense that racked up 482 total yards and scored on seven of its first nine drives, Gibson had his third 300-yard passing game this season and fourth straight game surpassing 200 yards through the air, solidifying his status as one of the Big Sky’s most consistent signal-callers.
Other nominees this week are Colorado Mesa running back Aiden Taylor, Colorado Mines quarterback Joseph Capra, Colorado State linebacker Owen Long, Colorado State Pueblo wide receiver Reggie Retzlaff, Fort Lewis linebacker Jake Penney, and Western Colorado quarterback Drew Nash.
The recipient is determined by a vote by the members of the NFF Colorado Chapter’s board of directors and representatives from College Sports Communicators at the 10 schools that compete in college football in the state of Colorado. PAST RECIPIENTS
Honorees from the first six weeks of the 2025 season were:
- Western Colorado quarterback Drew Nash (September 2)
- CSU Pueblo signal caller Roman Fuller (September 9)
- Colorado Mines running back Landon Walker (September 16)
- CU quarterback Kaidon Salter (September 23)
- CSU Pueblo linebacker Bryson Torrie (September 30)
- Colorado Mesa running back Brandon Belgrave (October 6)
A senior from Amarillo, Taylor rushed for 127 yards and three touchdowns in Colorado Mesa’s 54-17 win over Adams State in Grand Junction on Saturday to even the Mavericks at 2-2 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and 3-3 for the season. He scored on runs of 22, 5, and 8 yards and averaged 7.5 yards per carry.
In leading Colorado Mines to a 24-14 win at South Dakota Mines, Capra completed 22 of 33 passes for 270 yards and three touchdowns. In his first full season as the Oredigger starter, the sophomore from Denver ranks third in the RMAC in passing (216.7 yards per game) behind CSU Pueblo’s Roman Fuller (258.0) and Nash (247.2).
The nation’s leading tackler, Long had a career high 17 stops (eight solos) to lead Colorado State to a 49-21 Mountain West Conference win over Fresno State at Canvas Stadium on Saturday in Fort Collins. He is averaging 14.2 tackles per game (2.5 better than any other player in the Football Bowl Subdivision).
A sophomore from Whittier, Calif., Long also had two tackles for losses, one sack, and a pass breakup in the Rams’ second win of the season. On Fresno State’s third drive of the game, Long logged three-straight tackles – including a TFL on 3rd and 1 – to force a turnover on downs.
In the No. 11 Pack’s 49-13 homecoming win over Fort Lewis, Retzlaff became CSU Pueblo’s all-time leader in receiving yards and tied the school’s career record for receptions. He finished the game with seven pass receptions for 96 yards and two touchdowns.
A senior from Corona, Calif., Retzlaff has now caught 152 passes in his 28-game career at CSU Pueblo for 2,534 yards. His 34 career touchdown receptions are first among active Division II players and fifth overall among all active NCAA players.
Current ThunderWolve receiving coach Paul Browning (2011-2014) previously held the school record for career receptions with 152 catches for 2,507 yards and 24 touchdowns.
Jake Penney continues to lead the Fort Lewis defense as he had 16 tackles (eight solo) in the Skyhawks’ 49-13 setback at CSU Pueblo. A junior from Parker, Colo., Penney also had a tackle for loss and one forced fumble in the game at the ThunderBowl.
With 76 tackles this season and 198 stops since the start of 2024, Penney’s 16 total tackles mark a new season-high to continue his streak of 8-straight games with 10 or more tackles.
After missing Western Colorado’s last game, Nash was back leading the Mountaineers to a win as he quarterbacked his club to a 56-17 victory over Black Hills State in Gunnison.
A senior from Torrance, Calif., Nash completed 21 of 32 passes for 399 yards and five touchdowns. He also rushed for 20 yards and one score.
Nash posted the seventh-highest passing day in program history while leading Western to its seventh consecutive win over the Yellow Jackets. His TD passes of 51, 7, 60, 36, and 1 yards were the Mountaineers’ first five TDs of the day, scoring the sixth TD of the afternoon on his own with a 1-yard plunge.
