Aireontae Ersery

Early life

Ersery was born on February 19, 2002, in Kansas City, Missouri. He grew up in the Ruskin Heights neighborhood of Kansas City. He was raised by his mother, Takita Charles, alongside his five other siblings (Danny, Dean, Cherish, Journey, and Rain). During his childhood, Ersery’s family faced severe financial hardship, his mother worked 3 jobs to support Aireontae and his siblings, often facing threats of eviction. As a child, Ersery was resourceful, and often helped provide his family with water among other necessities. Ersery later attended Ruskin High School. Originally, Ersery had his sights set on playing basketball, but was drawn into football through Ruskin High School football coach William Perkins. Ersery also participated in track and field and wrestling. He was rated as a three-star recruit and committed to play college football for the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

College career

In Ersery's first two collegiate football seasons in 2020 and 2021, he played in two games, while making one start for Minnesota. In 2022, he started all 13 games for the Gophers, earning honorable mention all-Big Ten Conference recognition. In 2023, Ersery started all 13 games at left tackle for the Gophers and earned second-team all-Big 10 honors.