Log onto Twitter toward the end of any Friday night in the fall, and there will be no shortage of Aaron Smith.

The Waukee ATH has burst onto the scene in recent weeks as one of the hottest — and fastest — uncommitted prospects in the state in the class of 2021.

That tends to happen when a player can score four touchdowns from anywhere on the field on any given night. Whether it’s rushing, receiving, or on the defensive side of the ball, Smith has a highlight to show.

“Starting out when I first got to Waukee my sophomore year, I always thought I played really well, but I never really got the recognition for it,” Smith said. “Just being able to showcase my skill and put it out there for everybody to see — it’s just a great feeling for everybody to know and finally see what I can do.”

A big piece of those highlights is speed.

When he started competing, track and field became his main sport, so speed has always been a part of his athletic career.

Once Smith landed in high school, he began translating his track speed to footwork and football drills, which have helped him on the gridiron in each of the past two falls. Now, it plays a role on both sides of the field.

“It’s helped a lot because now not only am I able to use it on defense when it comes to defending people and getting out of breaks and chasing down people, but also on offense, where I’m able to just blow by the defense and outrun everyone 80 yards to the end zone,” Smith said.

The exposure Smith garnered has since made its way to Iowa City.

It’s been a different recruiting process than expected because of COVID-19, but the Waukee senior has still found ways to communicate with Iowa.

Smith said the Hawkeyes have consistently kept him in the loop while letting him know that he’s in contention for one of the final scholarships on the board.

Director of recruiting Tyler Barnes and defensive recruiting coordinator Jay Niemann have stayed in touch with Smith, as has head coach Kirk Ferentz.

Smith said his conversation with Ferentz was a personal one-on-one talk that made him feel like a priority.

He has also taken a couple of visits to Iowa City, but none was more memorable for him than the Penn State night game at Kinnick stadium last season, which Smith called “indescribable.”

As for his play on the field, Smith said he’s been told he’s doing everything he needs to do.

“They’ve honestly told me I’ve done, like, everything to get to a spot where I could be receiving an offer,” Smith said. “I’ve played really well offensively and defensively. I showcased my skill. I wasn’t able to get up to the June camp — or any camps anywhere — because of COVID, so what I’ve done this season has really showcased what I can do.”

That makes the upcoming high school football playoffs even more important. These final games serve as one last chance for Smith to make a final recruiting pitch.

“I feel like it’s a statement — especially if we go far and I’m able to help my team go far,” Smith said. “It’s just a statement to show that I’m a great player and that I’m one of the best players in the state — because that’s how I feel.”

But these upcoming games don’t have to be a pressure-filled experience for the prospect.

Smith, who just picked up an offer from Wyoming earlier this week, has 15 scholarship offers on the board, including all three service academies and seven Ivy League schools.

Putting the “student” piece of “student-athlete” first has always been important for Smith, making the offers from Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton, and Yale even more meaningful.

“That’s still D-1 football — that’s still great football,” Smith said. “It’s great to have that athletically, but academically, to be able to be put in that position to even go to schools like that. You might be great at football, but if you don’t even have the grades, they’re not going to look at you because you need both. Being able to have both the athletic ability and academic ability to go to schools like that is just a great feeling.”