West Aurora's multi-sport star Terrence Smith picks Iowa

Most years, West Aurora football coach Nate Eimer knows what kind of talent is coming into the program from the various feeder schools.

Not so when Terrence Smith arrived on campus in the fall of 2021.

"His class is the COVID class of eighth grade," Eimer said. "To be honest, when he got here -- and he'll probably even say this -- he thought he was all basketball. I didn't even know he was going to play football."

Now, Smith is one of the state's elite seniors and the highest-ranked recruit in Eimer's 14-season tenure.

The 6-foot-4, 190-pounder committed to Iowa on Sept. 1, picking the Hawkeyes from among 16 Division I offers. He's a four-star prospect rated eighth in Illinois and 50th nationally among receivers in the 247Sports composite rankings.

As advertised, Smith is still a pretty good basketball player, too. He has multiple D-I offers in that sport as well, including from Northern Illinois. And he was an All-State high jumper last spring.

But football has his heart now.

"I started playing football when I was young and obviously basketball here and there," Smith said. "I was getting offered some and [had] looks from both. But I was noticing that I was getting higher and better looks from football.

"And basketball is a lot harder on the [recruiting] process. I had to make the best decision for me."

That meant football in general and Iowa in particular. His other Power Four offers included Iowa State, Minnesota and Purdue.

Smith wanted to commit before his senior season started. He attended Iowa's 40-0 win against Illinois State last weekend and was sold on the Kinnick Stadium experience in particular and the program in general.

He's part of a big Illinois contingent in Iowa's 2025 class, a group topped by the state's No. 1 senior, five-star Edwardsville edge rusher Iose Epenesa. Loyola teammates Ryan Fitzgerald and Drew MacPherson, Sycamore's Burke Gautcher, Oswego's Carson Cooney and Marist's Brad Fitzgibbon all are Iowa City-bound as well.

Smith likes the fact that Iowa is within easy driving distance for his family and friends.

"That means a lot to me ... especially for my mom and grandma, for sure," he said.

So what kind of a player are the Hawkeyes getting?

"He can run, he can catch, he's super coachable," Eimer said. "He's just learned more football every year. He just keeps getting better and better.

"If you look at his growth from his sophomore year until now, it is really amazing. His ceiling is so high, he's only going to get better."

Last season, Smith had 59 catches for 906 yards and 11 touchdowns for a 5-5 team that lost in the first round of the Class 8A playoffs. He, and the Blackhawks, have bigger dreams this fall.

West Aurora has returned to the Upstate Eight after a few years in the Southwest Prairie and has 24 players back with significant varsity experience along with some juniors up from a 6-3 sophomore team.

"I definitely have high hopes for this team," Smith said. "The sky's the limit."