The last time Ismael Smith Flores visited Iowa City it was when his father, LeRoy Smith, was inducted into the Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame in 2019. This time, it was the 6-foot-6, 210-pound Smith Flores that was the guest of honor as he made his official visit with the Hawkeyes over the weekend.

"I feel like I fit in well," said Smith Flores. "This place really feels like home, I'm not going to lie. It's really nice and the coaches are great people. They really showed me a lot of love and I could tell they're all real genuine."

One highlight for Smith Flores, who made the trip with his parents, was the game at Kinnick Stadium on Saturday as he watched Iowa's 33-13 win over Northwestern on Homecoming.

"It was a great game," Smith Flores said. "The crowd was really involved. It's different when you're there, especially as a recruit because you can feel the energy and know that could be you out there. It's definitely a good feeling."

The Texas native had freshman Xavier Nwankpa as his host for the weekend and also spent a lot of time with wide receiver recruits Jarriett Buie and Jordan Faison, who were also in town on official visits. In his conversations with the coaches, Smith Flores said they see him at receiver more so than tight end right now if he decides to go there, but ultimately it will depend on how he develops physically.

"I met with Coach Ferentz and Coach Copeland and right now they see me playing receiver," said Smith Flores. "They see me playing outside and being someone that can take the top off the defense. Just using my size and my speed to affect the game like I'm doing right now."

After growing up playing primarily basketball, where he also had some Division I interest, Smith Flores is out for high school football for the first time this season and has proven to be a quick study with 10 catches for 294 yards and two touchdowns for Arlington Martin.

"Physical, great body control, and rapidly improving," said Arlington Martin head coach Bob Wager. "Huge upside."

That kind of potential has drawn scholarship offers from Iowa and Michigan State and interest from several others including Boston College, Rutgers, and Colorado State.

Coming off the Iowa visit, Smith Flores does not want to rush things and would like to take at least one more visit this fall before making any decisions.

"I'm definitely going to go home and think about things some more," Smith Flores said. "I've still got a visit setup with Michigan State (11/12) so I'm going to take that one and then maybe we'll get closer to a decision."