MARESH IN THE MIX AT LINEBACKER FOR GOPHERS

It was news when Sam Maresh started participating in spring practice less than nine months after undergoing open heart valve replacement surgery. Now word comes that he’s in the mix for playing time and most likely will be seeing the field."He’s going 100 miles per hour,” head coach Tim Brewster said. “He’s in the mix and playing linebacker. He’s doing a hell of a job. He’ll definitely be able to play."Maresh has had a miraculous comeback from a surgery that many thought was career threatening. He also had another major medical scare when a believed tumor was found in his calf in February, just weeks before he was cleared to play. At the time it was worried that the tumor was cancerous, but a biopsy revealed that it was simply a dense packing of scar tissue.Maresh was one of the higest profile recruits of Brewster’s first recruiting class, a four-star prospect out of nearby Champlin Park High School, where he was also a All-State wrestler. He had offers from many other Big Ten schools.