Gophers football: Marcus no longer just 'Little Sherels'

Marcus Sherels says he sees good and bad in the absence of older brother Mike Sherels from this year's Gophers football team. The two were teammates the past two years and are so close that they are living together this year.

Then again ...

"Before this year, I was 'Little Sherels,'" said Marcus, a junior cornerback. "Now, there's just one. I'm the real one."

Actually, Mike Sherels will attest that Marcus was "the real one" long before this year. The older brother said he became aware of that watching Marcus one day in a fourth-grade football game.

"I was late for the game, because I'd had one of my own," Mike said. "As soon as I got there, my brother scored a touchdown on a very long run. He came up to me on the sidelines, helmet off, big smile, teeth missing, he's got a Mohawk that's dyed blond and he says, 'That was my eighth touchdown.' "

Mike Sherels has never had a Mohawk, let alone a blond Mohawk, nor has he ever scored eight touchdowns in a game. The one similarity he shares with his younger brother is an intense competitive streak.

Both brothers were walk-ons at Minnesota who quickly became major contributors. Mike was a starting linebacker and captain of last year's team.

But, according to Mike, that's where the similarities end. Marcus is a natural at pretty much everything he tries. Mike? Well, not quite.

Marcus, 5-11 and 166 pounds, was an outstanding varsity basketball player at Rochester John Marshall. "I can't even dribble," said Mike, a 6-footer who weighs about 240.

Marcus is an excellent student planning to attend law school. "Let's just say he's a much better student than I ever was," Mike said.

Then there are baseball, track and even video games. "I don't think I've ever beaten him even in a video game," Mike said. "You could say I'm slightly limited in athletic ability. I'm fat, and I can't jump."

Marcus is in the process of amazing the Gophers' coaches with his transition from wide receiver, his position of the past two seasons, to cornerback. In fact, Marcus is well on his way to winning a starting cornerback job after switching positions last spring.

"I can't even begin to tell you how pleased I am with Marcus," Gophers coach Tim Brewster said. "He's got great speed, and it seems like every day he gets more confident with himself."

Actually, Marcus' quick adjustment to defensive back is one thing that has not amazed his older brother. Marcus was a high school running back and cornerback, and Mike has always believed the secondary was Marcus' best position.

But the Gophers were short of receivers when Marcus arrived in 2006, prompting him to move to a position he had never played.

"The first few days were brutal," he said of the start of his Gophers career as a receiver. "I remember doing cone cuts one day, and I started backpedaling [like a defensive back]. I was like, 'What am I doing here?'"

Last spring the Gophers staff suggested that Marcus could help the team by filling a need for athletic cornerbacks. Another transition.

"I was a little shaky at first," Marcus said. "I spent two years figuring out how to be a wideout, and now I was learning something new again."

Mike admits that he likely had a hand in the move. A captain last season, Mike said he had "been talking in the coach's ear since the middle of last year" that Marcus should be playing cornerback.

Marcus has been so impressive at cornerback this fall that he appears destined to finally and forever put to rest talk of following in his brother's footsteps.

"I get that a lot," Marcus said. "But I just want to create my own path."

Not to worry, Mike said.

"Don't buy for a second that he's living in my shadow," Mike said. "He's so different, and so much better in everything he does than I ever was. And now, he's the only" Sherels on the Gophers.

"He'll be building his own legacy, believe me.''