After several years of dominating the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC), Framingham State seemed primed for a major step backwards heading into the fall 2016 season. The team had just graduated 22 seniors, including the MASCAC Offensive and Defensive players of the year, and was set to feature 45 freshmen.

“It was definitely a huge change to have so many leaders on the team graduate,” says junior linebacker Svenn Jacobson, who was selected to be a co-captain at the start of the year. “We have a really young team, but the kids believe in the program. It’s a new era of Framingham football.”

While the season featured a pair of heartbreaking one-point losses to UMass Dartmouth and Bridgewater State (snapping an incredible 34-game conference winning streak), the team still managed to finish with a strong 8-3 record, capped off by a thrilling 37-34 win in overtime in the inaugural New England Bowl versus Salve Regina.

“It was a challenging season and having a pair of one-point losses definitely adds to the pain,” says Jacobson. “But we are still a winning program, and it was amazing to see such a young team compete with all the other teams in the conference.”

Jacobson will again be looked upon as one of the leaders and captains of the team during his senior season in the fall. The Criminology major took an unusual route to Framingham State. He grew up in Maine and was set to move with his mom back to her home country of Norway, when he was encouraged by a high school football coach to remain in the United States and play college ball.

“I ended up at Framingham State with three other kids I played high school football with,” says Jacobson, who maintains dual citizenship in the United States and Norway. “It has worked out for the best.”

Jacobson feels like he’s getting a strong education at FSU, and is focused on graduating on time in spring 2018. After that, he plans to move back to Maine and would like to become a game warden.

“I’ve always enjoyed wildlife, so I figured, ‘Why not make it a profession?’” he says.