It figures to be a hotly-contested battle to land a three-star Florida defender with multiple Power-5 offers, but at least Iowa State has made the first cut of schools.

Sanford Seminole Class of 2017 strong-side defensive end DeMarco Artis, who last week released a list of 12 schools, says it’s the extra attention he’s received from the Cyclones that has kept them in the running.

Also included on Artis’ list of a dozen were Ole Miss, Virginia Tech, Maryland, Pittsburgh, NC State, UCF, Temple, Michigan State, Indiana, North Carolina and Louisville.

The latest opportunity for I-State coaches to put their eyes on Artis was yesterday’s Sound Mind Sound Body camp in Tampa.

For more on Artis' recruitment and how ISU stacks up at this stage of the process, check out a more-detailed story on the ISU Confidential message board.