The Four Most Interesting Things Erick All Said At Big Ten Media Days

Erick All spent an hour behind a microphone addressing a variety of topics as he prepares for his senior season.

Michigan tight end Erick All seems poised and ready for a big senior season. The 6-4, 245-pounder spent around an hour answering questions in Indianapolis during Big Ten Media Days and covered a variety of topics. Here's four things that stuck out during his media session last week.

"To finally stick it to [Ohio State] just felt great." 

All is an Ohio kid so you can hear the passion, joy and flat out relief when talking about beating the Buckeyes. He mentions that his good friends and even close family cheer for him every week except for when Michigan is taking on Ohio State. I can't imagine what that's like as a member of the team. All laughed it off at the podium, but you know it eats at him. Saying that it felt great to finally stick it to Ohio State is almost certainly not a strong enough way to put it. For him and other Ohio natives on the roster, it was everything. And you can bet they'll be using that same feeling as they travel to Columbus this fall.

"[Jay Harbaugh] made sure my game was perfect. It's still not perfect, but it helped me out a lot to realize."

All's whole answer about Jay Harbaugh really stuck with me. He pointed out three or four very specific things that he used to do incorrectly and explained exactly why or how Harbaugh tried to fix it. As All was answering the question, it just came off as very heartfelt and candid. You could literally see him reliving those film sessions with Jay and got a feeling for what it was like learning and being coached by the young, former tight ends coach. All is a phenomenal athlete and has a chance to have a monster senior season and you can tell from All's words that Jay Harbaugh is a huge reason why.

"It was a bad game and then I caught that touchdown and it was the best game."

I just love All's delivery here. He refers to his poor blocking during the game against Penn State as a reason why it was one of his worst performances but then literally laughs as he explains that scoring a game-winning touchdown has a way of changing your fortune. So much so that even months and months later, whenever a fan or admirer talks to him, they bring up the Penn State game and that long score. I would imagine it helped soften the criticism during the next film session too. 

"We've got to beat them guys."

You can see All's frustration almost boil over when talking about Michigan State. He says, "We have to beat them," in about three different ways and even suggests that the team will likely implement a "Beat Michigan State Drill" like they did for the Buckeyes. I found it a little surprising that All thinks the increased focus on Ohio State might've led to a lesser focus on the Spartans. I can't imagine that would happen against a rival and with those games about a month apart, but that's what All seemed to think. Whatever the case may be, beating MSU is paramount this year and everyone in Ann Arbor knows it.