Erick All Fitting in Well at Iowa

Former Michigan TE Bonding with New Teammates

IOWA CITY, Iowa - Erick All has been at Iowa just a few months, but he’s already become a perfect fit in Iowa’s tight end room.

“He’s a great guy,” fellow tight end Addison Ostrenga said. “He’s a vet, too, so I’m learning stuff from him, which is cool. It’s awesome — we can bring him in and he just fits right in.”

That’s exactly what All wanted when he transferred from Michigan after last season.

Transitions to a new program can be bumpy, especially to a program in the same conference as your last school. It hasn’t been that way for All.

“Everybody has been welcoming with open arms. It’s been great,” All said last week. “(The transition) has been real smooth. It just feels natural since I got here. Everybody’s been so nice. It’s just very welcoming.”

What drew All to Iowa was simple — the Hawkeyes have been known as one of the best programs in college football for tight ends, and he wants to be a part of that.

“They’re known for producing great tight ends, building them up through the system here,” All said. “I just loved the coaches. I loved Coach (Kirk) Ferentz before I even knew him — I thought he was a great guy.

“They play hard. There’s a lot of similarities with Michigan in terms of coaching, how they play, the mentality going into the game.”

All, a 6-foot-5, 255-pound senior, was an honorable-mention All-Big Ten pick in 2021 with the Wolverines after catching 38 passes for 437 yards and two touchdowns. But he played in just three games last season before suffering a back injury that ended his season.

With two years of eligibility remaining, All decided to try a different program, and Iowa, he said, was the best choice.

“It was just so natural,” he said.

Staying in the Big Ten wasn’t an important part of the decision for All, who grew up in Ohio.

“That didn’t really matter, to be honest,” he said. “I was just looking for the best team that fit me.”

All has become an important piece in a position group that lost Sam LaPorta, the Big Ten’s tight end of the year last season who is in the NFL draft.

All’s leadership is important to a group that has some inexperience.

“He taught me one way to block (a bubble screen),” fellow tight end Luke Lachey said. “It was just something cool like that he taught me.

All is healthy now and is at “full speed” for spring practice, Ferentz said last month.

“We weren't sure initially two months ago, but he's come along really well,” Ferentz said. “ I think the first positive thing, he went skating, I think it was in Cincinnati, back at Christmastime. That was a good sign. But he's really progressed well.

“We'll be smart about how much he works, not to overdo it right now.”

All found out quickly about his fellow tight ends.

“Just a lot of strength,” he said. “Great route running. Guys that would do anything to compete and win. They love competing out here.”