The Minnesota Golden Gophers improved to 7-0 with a 42-7 victory over the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Saturday, and it was an especially special game for placeholder Casey O'Brien.
The redshirt sophomore was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer, at the age of 13. According to ESPN's Tom VanHaaren, O'Brien has undergone 14 surgeries and multiple rounds of chemotherapy through the years.
He secured a spot on Minnesota's roster as a walk-on placeholder and redshirted his first year on campus in 2017. He did not see any action as a redshirt freshman in 2018 and had not gotten on the field in any of the first six games this year.