Iowa has a new cornerback pledge in the 2025 class, as three-star prospect Charles “CJ” Bell announced his commitment to the Hawkeyes.
Bell was in Iowa City this weekend for his official visit with the Hawkeyes. Following this weekend’s trip, he verbally locked in with head coach Kirk Ferentz, defensive coordinator/secondary coach Phil Parker and the rest of the Iowa staff.
He is originally from Mansfield, Massachusetts, but plays his prep ball at St. Thomas More School in Oakdale, Connecticut. He ranks as the No. 8 overall recruit in the Constitution State.
While the 6-foot-2, 168-pound Bell may need to add some weight to his frame before playing at the college level, he provides great height and length, to pair with his strong athleticism and footwork.
He shows good ball skills and makes plenty of plays with interceptions and pass deflections. Bell also has a listed 40-yard dash speed of 4.5 seconds.
Ernest Anderson, head coach of St. Thomas More School, speaks very highly of the talented defensive back and believes Iowa is getting one of the top players in the Mid-Atlantic.
“Best cornerback in the Northeast,” Anderson said about Bell. “He can do it all â long, twitchy and great feet. He’s an elite athlete.”
In May, Bell released a top-nine of Iowa, Rutgers, Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, Penn State, Tennessee and Boston College.
In total, Bell had close to 20 scholarship offers.
He took an official visit to see the Scarlet Knights during the weekend of May 31 through June 2. His only other official visit was to Iowa City to see the Hawkeyes this past weekend.
The Hawkeyes are known for strong defenses under Ferentz and Parker. In 2023, Iowa’s defensive unit ranked fourth in the Big Ten in total yardage allowed (281.9 per game), third in passing yardage allowed (170.7 per game), fourth in rushing yardage allowed (111.2 per game) and fourth in scoring defense (14.8 points per game).
Bell’s commitment gives Iowa 11 total pledges in its 2025 class as of press time. He is the second prospect projected to play defensive back for the Hawkeyes in the group, joining Drew MacPherson. However, Bell is the first cornerback commit, as MacPherson is likely to play safety.