Sherels & Spaeth Named Gopher FB Captains

The Gopher football team has named junior linebacker Mike Sherels and senior tight end Matt Spaeth as captains for the 2006 season.

Mike Sherels, a Rochester, Minn., native and John Marshall product, appeared in nine games last season with seven starts and ranked seventh on the team in tackles with 50, including 30 solo stops. Sherels was also third on the team in tackles-for-loss with 6.5 and led the team in fumble recoveries with two.

Matt Spaeth enters his senior year as one of the top tight ends in the nation. The St. Michael native has already been named to the Lombardi Award watch list for 2006 and was a preseason first-team All-America selection by Athlon. Spaeth, a first-team All-Big Ten selection his junior season, has tallied 729 yards on 62 receptions with eight touchdowns for his career and has started 34 of the 37 games he has played. He needs only 483 yards this season to surpass Ben Utecht as the school’s all-time leading receiver as a tight end.