On the eve of the beginning of Division 1 Football’s Early Signing Period last month, Strake Jesuit (Houston, TX) wide receiver prospect Nathaniel Beal III revealed he would not be signing a letter of intent with Iowa State, the school he verbally committed to last May 25. The afternoon of the first day of the Early Signing Period, the 6’5”, 200-pound senior revealed he had signed with the University of Virginia.

UVA head coach Bronco Mendenhall wanted to add size at the outside receiver position in the class of 2019, and he did just that with Beal, 6’3” Dorien Goddard of Tennessee, and 6’2” Dontayvion Wicks of Louisiana.

“We were looking specifically for long and tall and productive and talented receivers,” Mendenhall said during his press conference on December 19, the first day of the Early Signing Period. “And that doesn't exclude us from talking or reaching out to others that are committed elsewhere.”

“Nathaniel, in particular, has really nice size,” Mendenhall added. “We call players with that size always open, meaning that most corners that are matched up against him, there aren't many 6'3" or 6'4" or 6'5" corners. So whether they're behind him or not, they're always open. We wanted more size on the outside. We wanted more productivity. And we needed more consistency. And so Nathaniel, that was a really nice addition to this class and we're really excited about him.”

For Beal, who had taken an official visit to Virginia earlier in December, the decision to decommit from Iowa State was not an easy one. Out of respect, he informed Iowa State coaches of his decision to decommit in person.

“Honestly, it was one of the hardest things I’ve had to do because [Iowa State] was the very first to offer me and I was a high target for them,” Beal said. “I had a strong relationship with the coaches over there. [Decommitting] was really hard to do, but UVA is such an amazing place and opportunity.”

Beal, who also considered scholarship offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado State, Purdue and SMU, is rated a 3-star prospect by 247Sports, Rivals.com and ESPN.com. He hauled in 31 catches for 691 yards and eight touchdowns as a senior, earning unanimous first-team all-district honors for his performance.

Virginia extended a scholarship offer in early November before persuading the talented senior to take an official visit to Charlottesville.

“As we reached out and started that relationship, there became a sincere interest from Nathaniel back to us because of the academics, because of the need and then the style of play. But also where we are in the program and the impact he could have,” Mendenhall said.

“And so that all started this intrigue which then just blossomed into a recruiting visit,” Mendenhall continued. “So you're talking basically about a year-long relationship with an institution he was committed to and then a pretty short and fast turnaround, which means the impact that was made and just the clear fit between both parties that has to be like that or it doesn't override that long of a relationship.”

Mendenhall called Beal a “natural fit” for Virginia. Beal elaborated on his future head coach’s statement.

“With Virginia, obviously the academics speak for itself,” Beal said. “I always wanted to go to a place with great academics, so it was extremely appealing as soon as they offered. Getting to know the coach and that type of environment, and it was a good opportunity football-wise because they needed a big receiver.”

The rise Virginia football has undertaken under Mendenhall impressed Beal as well.

“The direction is really exciting for me,” Beal said. “I know I was previously committed to Iowa State. They are on a similar trajectory. I definitely wanted to be part of a program on the come up.”

Beal has been a big-play receiver for Strake Jesuit each of the past two years, averaging 22.3 yards per catch as a senior and 23.6 yards per reception his junior year. He helped his high school team to 18 wins and back-to-back 6A playoff appearances the past two seasons. One of the 2017 regular season wins came against Memorial, which then featured current Virginia freshman offensive lineman Joe Bissinger.

Beal, who says he always dreamt of playing “any type of college sport,” played football and basketball at the beginning of his high school career. Because of his size, he figured football was his best chance at being a student athlete on the next level.

Position-wise, “I just love playing receiver,” Beal said. “Some schools mentioned me playing tight end ... I wouldn’t consider those schools.”

“My strength as a receiver is just being able to beat corners deep,” Beal said. “I think I have a good combination of size and receiving speed. Coming from a run-heavy offense, another strength is run-blocking. That was a huge emphasis by my high school coach.”

As Virginia’s scholarship situation currently stands, Beal, Goddard and Wicks will effectively double the amount of projected scholarship receivers over 6’0” on the Cavalier roster next season. Rising seniors Hasise Dubois (6’3”) and Joe Reed (6’1”) will headline the group, which also features rising redshirt sophomore Darnell Pratt (6’2”) and four other scholarship receivers who measure in at 6’0” or under – rising junior Terrell Jana (6’0”) as well as rising sophomores Billy Kemp (5’9”), Tavares Kelly (5’8”) and Ugo Obasi (6’0”).

Beal isn’t assuming anything when it comes to early playing time. Goals before preseason practice include improving his acceleration and filling out his 6’5” frame as much as possible. But he is also hoping his size may help him be able to contribute next season.

“With the lack of bigger receivers, I do see myself having a pretty good opportunity,” Beal said.

More with Nathaniel Beal III

- Beal recalled a few conversations with Coach Mendenhall, including when he decided to give UVA a closer look and then when he decided to sign with the Hoos.

“Coach Mendenhall told me he was just excited I was giving him a chance,” Beal said. “When I told him I was coming, he was extremely excited for the program and for me. He was emphasizing that Virginia is a great fit for me because of the things I value. He told me I made his day.”

- Virginia’s combination of academics and athletics was obviously instrumental, but so was the culture Mendenhall has instilled in Charlottesville.

“The culture was probably one of the things they emphasized the most on my visit,” Beal said. “The players tell me it’s like night and day since Coach Mendenhall arrived. It’s a really good culture. The big thing is family first, last, and always. Part of the culture is the things they do off the field. Obviously, UVA’s a great school. I think they want you to be great in the classroom as well. I truly believe that.”

- Location was “never really an issue,” Beal said, in terms of making his college choice.

“I looked at it as it could be a luxury, but I never was going to make a whole college decision based on location,” Beal added. “My family is willing to travel to see me play.”

- Beal made his official to UVA along side his mother and younger brother.

“She wasn’t saying a whole lot on the visit because she wanted me to make my own decision,” Beal said of his mother. “She did tell me she really liked Coach (Marques) Hagans.”

- Virginia Director of Athletics Carla Williams spoke with Beal and his family during the official visit.

“We did have a pretty good talk,” Beal said.

- Beal’s high school highlights?

“One of the highlights as a whole was being able to get the most amount of wins,” Beal said. “We had wins against public schools, which we took a lot of pride in. We reached the second round of playoffs two years in a row, which is unheard of at our school. Also, two of my teammates will be playing in Power 5 conferences (running back Michael Wiley with Arizona and tight end Thomas Gordon with Northwestern). They are two of my really good friends.”

- Virginia showed Beal film of a former Cavalier to give him a sense of how he may be used in the offense.

“I saw how they used Andre Levrone and they wanted to use me similarly,” Beal said. “As a go-to-guy going deep.”

- Asked about a field of interest academically, Beal said he is interested in getting into politics one day.