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Published May 9, 2018
3-Star WR Nathaniel Beal zeroing-in on top contenders from spring
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Nick Krueger  •  Rivals.com
Recruiting Analyst

HOUSTON, Tex. -- High three-star wide receiver Nathaniel Beal hasn’t been able to get quite as much work in as many of his peers during spring football due to a lingering hamstring injury, but that hasn’t hurt his popularity on the recruiting trail.

Beal just returned from a visit to Iowa State last weekend and picked up an offer from Arizona State on Monday. Prior to that, he closed out April with an offer from Purdue, and has picked up nine other offers since before the start of spring.

“It’s just been really excited to be living out my dreams and get these college offers that I’ve really been working for,” he said. “It’s good to finally see it all coming true.”

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Beal said that he is hoping to squeeze a visit in this summer to Purdue and that Baylor has been in consistent contact with him over the past few months. Even as offers continue to come in, he feels as though he’s started to get a pretty good idea about where the programs that have been recruiting him stand and what he’s ultimately looking for as he’s gearing up to make a commitment before the start of the season.

IN HIS WORDS

On Baylor

“Just last week the receivers coach came to see me and I talk with him,” he said. “I stay in touch with them weekly, I would say - the area recruiter will reach out to me or the receivers coach will reach out to me. Whenever I visit, I have a really good visit up there. I went to one of their junior days and that was pretty cool, and my relationship with those coaches is one of the better ones I have.”

Recapping his visit to Iowa State

“I actually just visited on Saturday and fell in love with everything,” he said. “I just have such a great relationship with all the coaches; the Houston-area recruiter, the receivers coach, the head coach, all the assistants, it just has a family-like feel.”

“With the history they have of big receivers on the outside - 6-4, 6-5 guys, they’re just really impressive and I want to work with a receivers coach who knows how to work with guys like that,” he said. “Also, the fact that they were the first to offer me, that stands out a lot.”

On Purdue

“So far, I’ve just been getting to know them since things are just starting off,” he said. “We’ve been talking about going to visit sometime this summer … I’m pretty serious about taking a visit because I was going to Indiana to visit my stepdad’s family already and they live 30 minutes away from campus, so I was going to sort of be up there already, so it would be pretty convenient.”

RIVALS REACTION

The Cyclones appear to be in a very positive place with Beal following his visit to Ames. Furthermore, he fits the mold of other wide receivers in recent memory that have flourished at Iowa State, and that’s an appealing factor in his considerations.

“They compare me a lot to (Allen) Lazard and the receiver that they have there now, Hakeem Butler,” he said. “The receivers coach thinks that I am a mix of those two and that means a ton, because those are both excellent receivers and it means a lot to be compared to them.”

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