Tag: Erick All

ESPN tabs Iowa Hawkeye as 2024 NFL draft sleeper

ESPN’s Louis Riddick believes Erick All could be the next great tight end to come out of Iowa.

The 2024 NFL draft is getting oh so close.

All 32 NFL franchises will descend upon Detroit’s Campus Martius Park and Hart Plaza to alter the trajectories of their respective futures. Meanwhile, dreams will turn into reality for a number of high-profile draft eligible players.

Several Hawkeyes are expecting to hear their names called in the 2024 NFL draft. Former Iowa defensive back and return specialist Cooper DeJean has been a trendy first-round selection in the various 2024 NFL mock drafts for some time.

In CBS Sports’ latest mock draft from Jared Dubin, DeJean is projected as the No. 15 selection overall to the Indianapolis Colts in the first round.

DeJean won’t be alone in hearing his name called, though.

Former Hawkeye tight end Erick All will make some franchise very happy with his combination of size, speed and athleticism. The 6-foot-5, 255 pound tight end unfortunately had his 2023 season with Iowa cut short after sustaining an ACL tear in the Hawkeyes’ win at Wisconsin.

In his seven games with the Hawkeyes, All emerged as Iowa’s best offensive player. The Fairfield, Ohio, product caught 21 passes for 299 receiving yards with a trio of touchdowns.

As a result, he’s turned the heads of draft evaluators. ESPN’s Louis Riddick included All among his list of potential 2024 NFL draft sleepers.

After Georgia’s Brock Bowers, I believe All is the second-best tight end in this draft. And had he not been dealing with back and knee injuries over the past two seasons, I think we’d be talking about All as a Day 1 prospect. He can cause problems for NFL defenses with his size (6-foot-4 and 252 pounds), play speed, blocking ability, excellent route running and surefire hands. All is very explosive both as a blocker at the traditional Y alignment or from the U alignment, but he’s much more than that. All can stretch the middle of the field as a receiver, regardless of whether he is set up inside or flexed out as a slot.

The stats won’t wow you — he caught 21 passes for 299 yards and three touchdowns last season — but his tape is fantastic. And All is super tough after the catch. In fact, 135 of his 299 receiving yards came after the ball was in his hands. It shouldn’t be too shocking that we have a good tight end coming out of Iowa (though he was a transfer from Michigan), and I fully expect to see All on the field dominating this fall. – Riddick, ESPN.

That’s lofty praise from Riddick, who is regarded as one of ESPN’s top NFL analysts.

All certainly has the makings to develop into the next Hawkeye star at the next level. And, given what draft boards look like, All could come as a steal late in day two or early in day three.

Prior to his arrival in Iowa City, All caught 38 passes for 437 receiving yards with a pair of touchdowns during the 2021 college football season with Michigan.

All ended his collegiate career with 75 receptions for 864 receiving yards with five touchdowns in 40 career games played.

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Iowa tight end Erick All the latest to visit Browns on 2024 NFL draft visit

The Browns do more work on the tight end class

General manager for the Cleveland Browns, Andrew Berry, continues to finalize his draft board, bringing in Iowa tight end Erick All for a top-30 visit ahead of the 2024 NFL draft next week. The biggest concern with All is the injury history, having only played in 10 games combined in the last two seasons.

It is easy to see why you’d want All on your team when he is on the field. At 6-foot-4 and 250 pounds, he has great size and physicality for the tight-end position. All is a good route runner and a physical blocker, and if he can stay healthy, he could grow into a nice compliment to David Njoku.

He does some creative things after the catch and uses his strength and physicality to get hard-fought yardage. He is a great red-zone target. The injury concerns make selecting All difficult, but Berry has shown that he is willing to take a chance when there is talent and upside.

Iowa tight end Erick All to visit the Commanders

An Iowa tight end is visiting the Commanders.

Some of the NFL’s best tight ends are from the University of Iowa. An Iowa tight end, Erick All, is available in next week’s 2024 NFL draft for teams needing a tight end.

The Washington Commanders need a tight end and are hosting All on a top 30 visit, according to Ryan Fowler of Bleacher Report.

All, a 6-foot-4, 252-pound prospect, spent his first four collegiate seasons at Michigan before transferring to Iowa in 2023. It was a good move for All, considering the Hawkeyes’ reputation for developing tight ends.

In 2023, a healthy All was off to a strong start with 21 receptions for 299 yards and three touchdowns in seven games. Unfortunately, All tore his ACL in an October game against Wisconsin, and he missed the remainder of the season.

All’s 2023 injury came one year after his final season at Michigan ended prematurely with a back injury. In 2021, All had a terrific season for the Wolverines with 38 receptions for 437 yards in a low-volume passing attack and looked on the verge of a huge 2022 season before the back injury.

All has been a popular player over the past few months as NFL teams reviewed his medicals. Many believe he can be an effective starter at the next level if those medical reports are positive.

Dolphins to host Iowa TE, Northern Iowa DT on pre-draft visits, per report

The Dolphins are bringing in a couple draft prospects from the state of Iowa for a closer look ahead of the 2024 NFL draft.

The Miami Dolphins are scheduled to host Iowa tight end Erick All and Northern Iowa defensive tackle Khristian Boyd on pre-draft visits, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.

All spent the first four seasons of his collegiate career with the Michigan Wolverines where he was a team captain before joining Iowa as a graduate transfer. Both his final season with Michigan and his sole year with Iowa ended early due to season-ending back and ACL injuries, respectively.

Tight end hasn’t been much of a featured position in Mike McDaniel’s offense through his first two seasons with the team. Mike Gesicki finished the 2022 season with 362 receiving yards and Durham Smythe ended 2023 with 366 yards. Still, the Dolphins added former Falcons tight end Jonnu Smith in free agency.

Boyd finished his collegiate career at NIU with 10.5 sacks, 22.5 tackles for loss, and two forced fumbles. His 89.0 grade from Pro Football Focus for the 2023 season ranked 10th among all defensive tackles at the FBS and FCS levels.

Miami lost defensive linemen Christian Wilkins and Raekwon Davis in free agency, and threw several relatively cheap options into the mix by signing former Lions defensive tackle Benito Jones, former Broncos defensive tackle Jonathan Harris, and former Cowboys defensive tackle Neville Gallimore to one-year deals.

In a recent seven-round mock draft published by ESPN, Boyd was projected to the Dolphins in the fifth round and All was picked by the Los Angeles Rams in the sixth.

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Meet the four Hawkeyes headed to the 2024 NFL combine

Make way for the next wave of professional black and gold standouts. Four Iowa Hawkeyes are headed to the 2024 NFL draft combine.

With the Super Bowl officially in the rearview mirror, we have entered the football offseason. Specifically, we can say it’s NFL draft season.

While fans of some teams have been there for a few months, February is when it really starts to set in. It’s time for fans to try to cram an entire scouting process’s worth of research into two months, and there’s no better place to start than the good ol’ underwear Olympics.

The NFL scouting combine is one of the more divisive events in football. Some see it as a necessary tool to gauge just how athletic these prospects are because it’s hard to tell while going up against college athletes. Others find it completely useless, an underwear Olympics where some players undeservedly shoot up draft boards in one day. Don’t forget the folks out there who will constantly remind you that the interviews are the most important part of the week.

For me, I’ve always loved the combine. The spectacle of it always brings me in, and it helps that Iowa players have been killing it in Indianapolis in recent years.

This year, four Hawkeyes are scheduled to make their way to the 2024 NFL scouting combine. Here’s a look at the four Iowa players descending upon Indy.

Erick All thanks former Hawkeye offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz in NFL draft declaration

Among others, Iowa tight end Erick All thanked former Hawkeye offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz individually in his NFL draft declaration.

Erick All announced on Monday night that he is foregoing his final collegiate season and instead declaring for the 2024 NFL draft.

Even in just seven games with the Iowa Hawkeyes, All demonstrated the traits that might make him the next impact name in a long line of talented tight ends flocking to the NFL from Iowa City.

All’s season came to an early end with a torn ACL in Iowa’s 15-6 win at Wisconsin, but the 6-foot-5, 250 pound tight end still finished with Iowa team highs in receiving yards (299) and touchdown grabs (3). The Fairfield, Ohio, native reeled in 21 catches in 2023.

Across his five-year career at Michigan and Iowa, All tallied 75 catches, 864 receiving yards and five touchdown receptions. All appeared in 40 games and started 19.

As All moves on to his professional future, he leaves behind an Iowa program that is still searching for its next offensive coordinator and a more explosive future on that side of the football.

Despite all of the criticism locally and nationally over the past several seasons, one common thread was Iowa’s ability to band together as a team, support one another publicly and find ways to win games in spite of an offense that consistently ranked as one of the nation’s worst units.

All’s time in the black and gold is coming to a close, but he made sure to demonstrate that Hawkeye synergy one final time. All thanked a series of Michigan and Iowa coaches in his farewell note and that included a heartfelt thank you to former Iowa offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz.

“Coach Brian Ferentz, you taught me a new side of the game I really didn’t know I had. You taught me, in only 1 year of playing for you, how to play free and that there’s so many other ways to play the game. Yes, go out there every weekend and play tough smart and physical but also don’t forget to remember the bigger picture don’t forget why you strap up and go out there each week.

“Playing for you Coach made it easier to play some of the greatest games I have ever played, and it was simply because of you just being the coach you are and not letting all the noise from the world change that. Love you Coach and wish we had more time together,” All wrote of Brian Ferentz in his announcement on X.

All also individually thanked Iowa tight ends and fullbacks coach Abdul Hodge, Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz and Iowa tight end Luke Lachey.

“Coach Hodge, you pushed me EVERY DAY you didn’t care if I had been there for 5 years, 2 years, or even a month. You made sure that I had everything perfected and took time away from your day and family to meet with me anytime I needed anything or had any questions. Thank you so much for welcoming me into the T backs room! I’m gonna miss that room a lot. Thank you coach for just being real & yourself every day.

“Coach Ferentz, thank you so much for allowing me to be a Hawkeye. You have taught me so much about A LOT of things and just listening to you talk and address the team was some of my favorite times being in Iowa City. I don’t know if I ever met someone who loves the game as much as you. I am forever grateful to have played for you. I know you will forever be in my corner without any doubt in the world. Thank you so much coach,” All wrote to coach Hodge and coach Kirk Ferentz.

He also clearly was impacted by his relationship with Hawkeye tight end Luke Lachey.

“Last and most certainly not least, my man Luke Lachey, what a guy! Probably the best guy I know. Everyday he’s the same person and doesn’t care at all to just be himself. The nicest guy ever but does not care to hold you accountable, and that’s all you can ask for in a friend. When I got hurt this year Luke was the very first person to approach me to make sure I was doing okay…

“Luke big dawg I love you bro and forever will thank you for all the talks and laughs we had bro. Glad to meet and play with you man,” All wrote to Lachey.

The 2024 NFL draft takes place April 25-27 from Campus Martius Park and Hart Plaza in Detroit, Mich.

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Iowa TE Erick All declares for the 2024 NFL draft

Iowa tight end Erick All declared for the 2024 NFL draft.

Add another name to the long list of great Iowa Hawkeyes tight ends in the NFL.

Iowa tight end Erick All declared for the 2024 NFL draft on Monday night, announcing the decision across his social media platforms.

“After a crazy journey within these past 5 years, I decided to go ahead and enter the draft. This decision was so hard to make but I truly believe this is the right decision for me…

“To the Hawkeye Nation, thank you so much for everything! Thank you guys for welcoming me with open arms and making all the game so fun to be a part of. I will love and miss you guys forever! GO HAWKS!” All wrote in his announcement on X.

One of Iowa’s prized offseason transfer portal additions from Michigan heading into the 2023 college football season, All’s campaign came to an abrupt halt with an ACL tear during Iowa’s 15-6 win at Wisconsin.

All finished his abbreviated 2023 season with 21 receptions for 299 yards with three touchdowns in just seven games. His 299 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns still held up as Iowa team highs by season’s end.

All’s most productive collegiate season came at Michigan during the Wolverines’ march to a Big Ten championship in the 2021 season. The 6-foot-5, 250 pound tight end from Fairfield, Ohio, reeled in 38 catches for 437 yards with a pair of scores.

All ends his collegiate career with 75 grabs for 864 yards and five touchdowns. He appeared in 40 games and started 19.

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Hawkeyes’ Cooper DeJean top CB on ESPN’s NFL draft big board, both Iowa TEs ranked

Iowa’s Cooper DeJean sits atop Mel Kiper’s cornerback rankings for this year’s NFL draft. Other Hawkeyes are among the rankings as well.

The NFL draft and the Iowa Hawkeyes have become a bit like peanut butter and jelly over the last decade. The Hawkeyes are a bit of an NFL pipeline pumping out first round draft picks along with depth guys found in the later rounds that have proven to blossom quite nicely into NFL-caliber talent.

The 2024 NFL draft class for the Hawkeyes appears to be set to send their next handful to the league. Led by star cornerback and likely first round pick, Cooper DeJean, the Hawkeyes are once again proving they develop talent with the best of them.

The proof is in previous draft classes and also in the current 2024 NFL draft big board by ESPN’s Mel Kiper. He has five Hawkeyes ranked among the top 10 of their positional groups as attention now turns to mock drafts and scouting.

Here is a look at who Kiper has ranked, where they rank, and how they have produced in their time at Iowa.

Kirk Ferentz confirms Iowa TE Erick All out for the season with leg injury

Kirk Ferentz confirmed the feared news. Iowa tight end Erick All is out for the rest of the season with a leg injury.

Erick All suffered an injury in the Iowa Hawkeyes’ win over the Wisconsin Badgers that didn’t look good from the second it happened. All’s leg got caught in an awkward spot and led to a tough break for the tight end who was elevating himself all year as one of the Hawkeyes’ top targets.

Today, Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz confirmed that Erick All will be out for the remainder of the season due to injury. ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported All’s injury is a torn ACL.

The news comes on the heels of Cade McNamara tearing his ACL and fellow tight end Luke Lachey having a lower leg injury that required surgery.

“On a sad note, unfortunately, Erick All, looks like his season’s over. We were worried about that on Saturday and tests confirmed that. He’s going to miss the rest of the year. It’s just really unfortunate.

“He’s done a great job, newcomer to the team. Just a great addition. Such a positive guy, hardworking, great personality and just really loves the game, loves everything about the game. Not just the game itself. Hate to lose anybody and certainly feel badly for Erick in that regard. He was certainly adding a lot for our football team. It’s just a tough deal, so we’ll all support him in his recovery, his road back and certainly hope all that goes well,” Ferentz said of All.

Through the seven games he appeared in, All was the Hawkeyes’ biggest threat in the passing game. All registered 21 receptions for 299 yards and three touchdowns. He quickly embraced the role of the top tight end and top pass-catching target. Erick All was the leading receiver for Iowa in receptions, yards, and touchdowns.

Iowa is bracing for the Minnesota Golden Gophers to come to Kinnick this Saturday and will be without their top three tight ends it appears at the moment. All and Lachey are out and third-string tight end Addison Ostrenga is not listed on the depth chart.

Steven Stilianos, a transfer senior from Lafayette College, and Johnny Pascuzzi, a sophomore from Rockhurst High School in Olathe, Kan., will be manning the tight end position.

The Hawkeyes kick off against the Golden Gophers in the battle for the Floyd of Rosedale at 2:30 p.m. CT on NBC.

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Erick All named to Comeback Player of the Year Award midseason watch list

Arguably Iowa’s best offensive player, tight end Erick All has been named to the Comeback Player of the Year Award’s midseason watch list.

He’s been quite the newcomer for Iowa. In fact, arguably, he’s been the Hawkeyes’ best offensive player.

Matter of fact, that’s a pretty easy argument to make for Michigan transfer tight end Erick All.

For an offense that has it’s well-documented struggles, All’s addition has been gigantic. The 6-foot-5, 250 pound tight end has touchdown grabs of 13 and 22 yards in each of Iowa’s last two games, close wins over Michigan State and Purdue.

At the midway point of the season, All has reeled in team-highs in receptions, yardage and touchdowns with 19 grabs for 280 receiving yards and three scores.

As a result, like so many Hawkeye tight ends before him, All is climbing up 2024 NFL draft boards in a hurry. ESPN’s Jordan Reid recently included All as one of his 2024 draft sleepers to watch.

For Iowa fans that know All as the transfer from the Wolverines, it may be easy to forget that All is making his way back from a serious surgery that ended his 2022 season. All described it as a “life changing surgery” last fall.

That ended All’s 2022 season with just three grabs for 36 yards in only three games played. Injuries and surgeries are always a serious situation, but it had to be an even more mentally challenging time for All after a breakout 2021 season where he caught 38 passes for 437 yards with a pair of touchdown grabs.

A successful surgery and a successful change of scenery have resulted in All piecing together a fantastic 2023 season so far. As a result, All has been named to the Comeback Player of the Year Award midseason watch list.

Over the past two games, All has nine catches for 164 yards with a pair of touchdown receptions.

As the Hawkeyes have turned the offense over to quarterback Deacon Hill following Cade McNamara’s injury, All provides a nice security blanket for Hill.

The talented native of Fairfield, Ohio, is quickly blossoming into one of the nation’s finest tight ends and overall playmakers.

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