University of Minnesota placeholder Casey O'Brien was named Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week after Minnesota's 42-7 win at Rutgers.
O'Brien, who is a four-time cancer survivor, saw the first game action of his career when he competed against Rutgers. He held on Minnesota's final three point-after attempts against the Scarlet Knights, as the Gophers improved to 7-0 on the season.
O'Brien gave the keynote address on behalf of the Big Ten football student-athletes at the Big Ten Football Kickoff Luncheon in July. There he spoke about being thankful and about how football helped him while he was battling cancer. O'Brien, who is a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar, was featured on ESPN College GameDay earlier this year and his story has inspired fans around the nation.
O'Brien is the sixth Gopher to be recognized by the conference this year. Minnesota set a school record when it had eight players honored last season and leads the conference with six honorees this year.