'I'm going to Iowa': Ihmir Smith-Marsette on why he flipped from Minnesota to Iowa

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette had a Minnesota connection years before the Vikings selected him in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL draft.

Smith-Marsette revealed on the “Men on Melrose” podcast — a show dedicated to Iowa athletics — that he was briefly committed to the Gophers in 2017 before flipping his commitment to the Hawkeyes, where he caught 110 passes for 1,615 yards and 13 touchdowns across his four-year college career.

Smith-Marsette said the Gophers pressured him to commit after offering him a scholarship for their 2017 class. After reluctantly giving them a verbal commitment during a visit to the U, Smith-Marsette said the Gophers kept asking him to make an announcement on social media before he left, calls he tried to blow off, but he eventually obliged to before heading home.

“I got home and I sat down and I was thinking like, ‘I really don’t wanna go there,’” Smith-Marsette said on the podcast. “And it was just like heavy on me, I was like, ‘(Expletive) it, I’m going to Iowa.”

Smith-Marsette said when signing day came, he just signed with Iowa and that Gophers coaches called him and visited him in hopes he'd again reconsider.

Smith-Marsette said he didn’t recall anyone from his class that went to Minnesota that “made it.” One of the podcast hosts, Max Cooper, on the other hand, had a better memory, saying how he knew “a lot” of people who went to the U and made it.

The Gophers’ 2017 class included a number of plays who not only made a significant impact at Minnesota but also went on to the next level. Offensive lineman John Michael Schmitz and edge rusher Boye Mafe were both second-round picks after standout careers at the U. Edge rusher Esezi Otomewo was selected in the fifth-round by the Vikings in 2022.

Running back Mo Ibrahim became the Gophers’ all-time leading rusher and was signed as an undrafted free agent last season. Quarterback Tanner Morgan became the program’s second all-time passing yards leader and has had brief stints in the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Vikings. Offensive lineman Blaise Andreis was also signed as an undrafted free agent.

Wide receiver Chris Autman-Bell and defensive back Justus Harris also were key contributors from the U’s 2017 class that each garnered at least some NFL attention while being impact players across their collegiate careers.

Smith-Marsette is on his third team in his third NFL season. Over the course of his career with the Panthers, Vikings and Chicago Bears, Smith-Marsette has 14 receptions for 182 yards and two touchdowns. Both of his TD catches came during his rookie season with the Vikings in 2021, when he caught five passes for 116 yards.