DETROIT — Aireontae Ersery’s chuckle comes out quick and easy when he sees the picture.

Sitting in the lobby at The Westin Book Cadillac hotel days before the Quick Lane Bowl, the Gophers offensive lineman was getting a kick of an image of himself as a freshman at Ruskin High School in Kansas City, Mo., in 2016.

The resemblance is there, but little else is the same. The 6-foot-6, 325-pound left tackle was 6-1 and 220 pounds back then, wearing a loose-fitting Nirvana band T-shirt, unsure of what he was doing in the weight room or what sport he would play.

“I see young ‘Tae, no muscles,” Ersery told the Pioneer Press. “Man, I don’t even know what I was doing in that picture. I just had a dumbbell in my hands.”

Ersery has seen this photo before. His former coach at Ruskin, William Perkins, recently sent it to Ersery to remind him of how far he’s come since then.

Finishing his fourth season at the U, Ersery was the highest-graded offensive lineman in the Big Ten in 2023, according to Pro Football Focus. He was named all-Big Ten second team in November.

“Am I surprised to see he is that highly rated? I am,” Perkins told the Pioneer Press. “But I did think he would have a future because of his size and how hard he works. I thought he would have an opportunity.”

Ersery was in the weight room back in 2016 because his uncle — who is two years older — was working out. Around that time, Perkins asked Ersery why he wasn’t playing football. Ersery didn’t have a good answer.

Ersery had played AAU basketball at the youth level, but his first year of organized football came after the coach’s prompting in his sophomore year. He was “extremely raw,” and needed to be coached up on his stance, footwork and hand placement. “But the same time, he was really coachable,” Perkins said.

“I wouldn’t saying I was good,” Ersery emphasized. “I was OK.”

But he was driven, doing push-ups at home every night and watching YouTube highlights of top linemen.

Ersery wasn’t a lost puppy for long in the weight room. “One of the kids you’d have to kick out of the weight room,” Perkins said. “I was like, ‘Hey, I’m ready to go home. You have to go home.’ ”

By his junior and senior years, he was all-state material. His favorite highlight came as a defensive lineman his senior year, when he scooped a fumble and returned it for a touchdown, raising one finger, as if he were No. 1, while rumbling into the end zone.

The Gophers first saw Ersery at a satellite camp at Lindenwood University in suburban St. Louis. They didn’t know who he was, so they referred to him as “blue shorts” because that was what he was wearing that day.

“He reminded me of (Pittsburgh Steelers lineman) Chukwuma Okorafor that played for us at Western Michigan from Southfield High School in Detroit,” P.J. Fleck said. “Just really athletic, unbelievable feet, high cut. You can tell when (he) put on some weight, this kid was gonna be a monster.”

Gophers coaches, including O-line coach Brian Callahan, were struck by his athleticism and size; they hovered over him during drills at the camp.

“We did everything we could to keep them quiet,” Fleck recalled this week. “… But you can’t keep him that quiet.”

When the U found Ersery, he had been recruited by Kansas and Kansas State, Northern Iowa, South Dakota and a few others. He signed with Minnesota in the class of 2020, and due to more than 30 players sidelined during the pandemic that season, he made his first start as a true freshman in the game at Nebraska that December.

“I didn’t know my head from my butt,” Ersery told reporters in August. “But I’ve come a loooong way.”

Minnesota Gophers tackle Aireontae Ersery (69) in action against Wisconsin during the first quarter of a NCAA football game at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

That response was one of many times he cracked wise after a preseason practice.

He was asked where his great footwork come from. “I used to be a dancer when I was little,” Ersery claimed. “I can’t dance like I used to, but I think that is where it came from. Tried to dance when I’m in front of the family.”

What songs? He mentioned Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the U.S.A.” “That was a good one,” he said. “We used to go to the swimming pool; they would play that.”

If the Gophers football team fielded a basketball team, Ersery has been mentioned by teammates to be in a fictitious starting five.

“You know Shaq?” Ersrey said of hall of famer Shaquille O’Neal. “Yeah, that’s me. Throw the ball to me. I’ll back you down.”

While basketball was his first love, Ersery was actually more of a wrestler in high school, also being talked into going out for Ruskin varsity team. In the spring, he was a thrower of shot put and discus on the track and field team.

At Ruskin, Ersery was known for cracking jokes and mimicking certain coaches’ phrases and ticks. “He started off as a somewhat quiet kid, but did not leave Ruskin as a quiet kid,” Perkins said with a laugh.

Fleck has seen Ersery’s wit.

“I think there’s a massive difference between silly and fun, but he has a lot of fun,” Fleck said. “He’s edgy when he plays. But he plays the right way. And at the same time, as a person, he’s got a great personality. I think the guys have flocked to that.”

Perkins had to give up coaching when he became assistant principal at Ruskin, but he’s still trying to recruit players to go out for the football team. He now uses Ersery as an prime example.

“We talk about Aireontae a lot,” Perkins said. “This is a kid who had no intention of playing football and now look, he’s one of the best tackles in the country. (The message:) ‘Think about where you can be if you put your head to it and really put the work in.’ ”

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