Allen Reisner finds a home with Vikings; Ben Lamaak to the Raiders

IOWA CITY - It was a long time waiting, but Allen Reisner finally has a place to go.

Reisner, a former tight end at Iowa and Marion High School graduate, was one of seven former Hawkeyes agreeing to free-agent contracts after the NFL ended the four-month lockout Monday.

"Obviously I enjoy the feeling knowing I was finally going to know where I was going to go, finally going to have some answers," Reisner said Tuesday. "There were no more question marks."

Reisner, who stands 6-foot-2 and weighed 248 at February's NFL Combine, started all 13 games at tight end for Iowa last year. He caught 42 passes for 460 yards and two touchdowns. He finished his Iowa career with 69 catches for 834 yards and four touchdowns.

Reisner fielded calls from a couple of NFL clubs and agreed to terms Monday night with Minnesota.

"When the free-agency market goes like that, when they call you, you can't really wait around or they're going to withdraw your offer and get someone else. So there was no waiting around."

Reisner didn't wait around Eastern Iowa afterward either. He was driving en route to Minnesota while talking about his deal, and training camp starts Sunday.

Reisner will have plenty of competition. The Vikings have one of the league's top tight ends in Visanthe Shiancoe and 13-year blocking tight end Jim Kleinsasser. Minnesota also drafted Notre Dame tight end Kyle Rudolph in the second round. Reisner will join former Hawkeyes Chad Greenway, Seth Olsen and Christian Ballard on the Vikings' roster this summer.

"I'm going to have to compete my butt off," Reisner said. "They've got good players. Their tight ends are very experienced. I'm going to do what I can to try to get noticed by the coaches, and fight for a roster spot.  Special teams is going to be huge."

Like Reisner, several other former Hawkeyes agreed to free-agent deals on Monday and Tuesday. Those players include wide receiver Derrell Johnson-Koulianos (Philadelphia), linebacker Jeremiha Hunter (New Orleans), linebacker Jeff Tarpinian (New England), punter Ryan Donahue (Detroit), long snapper Andrew Schulze (Atlanta) and safety Brett Greenwood (Pittsburgh).

Johnson-Koulianos is Iowa's all-time leader in catches (173) and receiving yards (2,616). He's third in touchdown receptions (17) and fifth in all-purpose yards (4,231). Johnson-Koulianos was a four-year starter, led Iowa in receptions for three straight years, caught 14 passes exceeding 20 yards last year and was named first-team all-Big Ten by league coaches.

In 2010, he also led the Big Ten in kickoff returns with a 29.3 yard-per-return average, ranking No. 8 nationally.

Greenwood, had five interceptions and 61 tackles last year. Donahue averaged 44.6 yards a punt and parked 22 inside the 20-yard line. Hunter led Iowa with 90 tackles. Tarpinian had 47 tackles in eight games.

IOWA STATE SIGNEES

Cedar Rapids Kennedy alum and Iowa State center Ben Lamaak was one of at least three Cyclones to agree to free-agent contracts Monday or Tuesday.

Lamaak, stands 6-4 and weighs 302, wrote on Twitter "I'm officially an Oakland Raider. Camp at Napa Valley!!!" this morning. Lamaak can play multiple offensive line positions.

Iowa State tight end Collin Franklin (New York Jets) and safety David Sims (New York Giants) also agreed to terms. Sims will go head-to-head against former Iowa safety Tyler Sash, who was a Giants' sixth-round pick in April.

Iowa City Regina alum and former Iowa State defensive back Michael O'Connell was still unsigned as of mid-Tuesday afternoon, he said.

Northern Iowa tight end Schuyler Oordt agreed to terms with the St. Louis Rams.