Dubuque Senior offensive tackle Jim Bonifas has been a frequent visitor to Iowa City and was on campus Sunday for their first junior day of 2020.

“I enjoyed my trip at Iowa, especially getting to learn more about how they operate day to day.”

Bonifas was able to get a better feel for the rigors of playing for the Hawkeyes.

“Just more about the culture they have developed there with their continued success, along with more about their daily schedule.”

There was one portion of the trip that Bonifas considered the highlight of his time there.

“Honestly the player panel," said Bonifas. "We got to hear directly from the players what their true thoughts on Iowa football were.”

Bonifas was able to get the perspective of how their athletes felt about suiting up for the Hawkeyes.

“Just that the things they were saying were real and they didn’t hide the difficulty of playing at that level," Bonifas said. "Really, it just gave me an accurate depiction of the program.”

The visit also allowed Bonifas to continue developing his relationship with two of their coaches.

“I spoke a lot with Coach Polasek and Coach Brian Ferentz, and I really enjoyed those talks," he said. "It was just learning about the kind of guys they want, especially in the OL room.”

Bonifas, who holds offers from Iowa State, Louisville, and South Dakota State, continues to be a lineman that the Iowa coaches are following.

“Just that they’re interested and taking their time," said Bonifas. "They like me as a player and will just have to keep evaluating.”

The Hawkeye staff has been able to see Bonifas at his high school recently and another one tried before being turned away by mother nature.

“Most recently, Coach Brian Ferentz came in about a week ago and it went well," Bonifas said. "We just talked about the Iowa program as a whole. Also, Coach Polasek tried to get up here about a week and a half ago but that was when that huge storm came through, so he was not able to.”

Bonifas is hitting the visit trail to a number of other Division I schools soon.

“I plan on going to NIU on Thursday, and then when March comes, I am getting down to Louisville, Kansas State, and potentially Missouri and Texas Tech but I am not sure on those yet.”

A final decision is something that Bonifas hopes to make before kicking off his final year of prep football.

“I plan on having a decision made before season, but I am just looking for the right fit.”

Bonifas mentioned the trio of colleges that are after him the most.

“I would say Iowa State, Iowa, and Louisville.”

Winter sports and workouts are what has been keeping Bonifas busy when not on the visit trail.

“They have been going well," he said. "Workouts and basketball have been awesome lately.”