Noah Ellison exercised patience in the recruiting process. He picked up a couple of offers from smaller schools and bigger programs were poking around.

Then, it happened. Iowa offered Ellison a scholarship on April Fool’s Day. It wasn’t a joke.

"I felt blessed. I felt like my recruitment was really on its way in the right direction," he said.

Despite growing up half a country away, in another time zone, the New Jersey wide receiver knows Iowa.

"It’s a Big Ten school with a great history. A local football player from my town, Mike Daniels, was drafted (after playing at Iowa). And my old Timber Creek (High alumnus), Quinton Alston, is league bound, also," he said.

Ellison (6-2, 194) hauled in 30 receptions for 480 yards and three touchdowns as a junior for a loaded Timber Creek team. The Newark Star-Ledger has ranked him as the No. 50 overall recruit in the state for 2016.

Ellison said he will visit Iowa on June 26-27.

"I want to experience their campus life, build a relationship with the coaches, and show them that I’m a great fit in their program. I also want to check into the sports medicine program," he said.

Ellison also reports scholarship offers from Temple and Old Dominion. He said he’s hearing from Syracuse, Boston College, Virginia Tech, Rutgers, Villanova, Duke and Pittsburgh.

Syracuse, Rutgers and Boston College have played host to Ellison on unofficial visits recently.

Ellison names Iowa, Rutgers, Syracuse and Virginia Tech as his favorite schools to date. Iowa is the most recent program to enter his recruitment, having come in about two weeks ago, he said.

Ellison said he expects to commit to a college following his senior season of football.