Matt Campbell and the rest of Iowa State’s coaching staff have made it clear they are not afraid to battle the biggest and best schools for recruits.

Wednesday morning, the coaching staff got another big recruiting victory with the commitment of three-star wide receiver C.J. Bolar.

Bolar, who hails from Purvis, Mississippi, had reported scholarship offers from schools such as Mississippi State, Louisville, North Carolina, and Tennessee. The 6-foot-2, 186 pound receiver will join the Cyclones in 2018.

Bolar is just the latest in a growing list of southern prospects being targeted by the coaching staff. Iowa State has targeted players from SEC states in recent years — such as Mississippi and Georgia — to mixed results.

Kam White was a highly-rated recruit from Mississippi who committed to Iowa State before decommitting and signing with Ole Miss.

Cordarrius Bailey, from Clarksdale, Mississippi, signed with the Cyclones in February. He and Bolar both turned down scholarship offers from local SEC schools in favor of Iowa State.

Bolar is the sixth commit of Iowa State’s 2018 recruiting class and the second wide receiver commit, joining Burnet, Texas, product Sterling Galban.

Although there is still a long way to go until signing day, Iowa State is off to a good start with its 2018 class. The class is ranked No. 48 nationally by 247Sports, four spots above the 2017 class ranking.