4-Time Cancer Survivor Casey O'Brien Makes Debut for Minnesota Football

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.

When the Golden Gophers went up 27-0 early in the fourth quarter thanks to a six-yard touchdown by Mohamed Ibrahim, O'Brien finally got his chance to take the field with his teammates:

He successfully took care of business, helping Minnesota extend its lead to 28 points. When he returned to the sideline, a proud (and emotional) coach in P. J. Fleck was waiting to congratulate him.

After the game, the four-time cancer survivor opened up about the special moment with Big Ten Network:

"It means the world to me," O'Brien said. "There's been so many ups and downs and nights in the hospital and surgeries and everything like that, that's gone into this moment. This is what I dreamed about, and tonight it got to come true."