Minnesota Golden Gophers junior linebacker Mariano Sori-Marin has been named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week after recording a career-high 18 total tackles on Saturday in the Gophers’ 24-17 road win over the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
Much like the Minnesota defense as a whole, Sori-Marin has struggled this season in his role as the lone upperclassmen linebacker. But his performance against the Huskers was by far his best of the season, and hopefully represents a step toward fulfilling the expectations that the coaching staff and fans had him for him coming into the year.