Gophers left tackle Aireontae Ersery was selected by the Houston Texas in the second round of the NFL Draft.

Ersery was drafted with the 48th-overall pick on Friday night. He extends the Gophers’ streak of having a player picked in the opening two rounds in now six straight drafts.

Safety Antoine Winfield started the streak by going to the Buccaneers in 2020. He was followed by receiver Rashod Bateman (2021, Ravens), defensive end Boye Mafe (2022, Seahawks), center John Michael Schmitz (2023, Giants), and safety Tyler Nubin (2024, Giants).

Ersery won the Big Ten offensive lineman of the year award in 2024 after allowing only one sack across 419 pass-blocking snaps during the 2024 season. He gave up two sacks in 381 reps in 2023 and two sacks in 325 in 2022.

Ersery and Schmitz are different players, but Gophers offensive line coach Brian Callahan sees similarities in their meteoric development.

Both were three-star recruits receiving few — if any — scholarship offers from Power Five conference schools. Coming out of Kansas City, Missouri, Ersery only had other major offers from Kansas and Kansas State.

“We’re a blue-collar mentality in terms of what we do here, particularly on the O-line,” Callahan told the Pioneer Press last week. “I take a lot of pride in both of those guys. … I think the work ethic piece, they are different body types, different players, but the how, as we call it, our effort, is always going to be something that sticks out for them.”

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