Gophers OT Aireontae Ersery an AP All-American

There’s no surprise in Dinkytown but it’s now official: Minnesota Golden Gophers left tackle Aireontae Ersery is an All-American.

The senior standout, who was named the Big Ten Rimington-Pace Offensive Lineman of the Year earlier this month, was placed on the Third Team All-American list by the Associated Press on Monday.

Ersery is the sixth Gopher to be named an All-American since P.J. Fleck took over the program in 2017 and the second offensive lineman to join that list in the last three years. The other recent Minnesota All-Americans were Tyler Nubin (2023), Mohamed Ibrahim (2020, 2022), John Michael Schmitz (2022), Antoine Winfield Jr. (2019) and Rashod Bateman (2019).

Among qualified players, Pro Football Focus gave Ersery the third-highest grade of any offensive tackle in the Big Ten this season, as he allowed just 13 pressures and one sack in nearly 700 snaps while also earning the fifth-best run blocking grade at his position. That overall grade puts him 10th among all Power 4 tackles while the run-block grade ranks 19th.

He's already considered likely to be selected in the early rounds of the NFL Draft next spring and has accepted an invite to the Senior Bowl. It's still unclear if he'll play in Minnesota's bowl game.