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What counts as a big wide receiver? In the 2019 class of recruits, there are only 15 players rated in the 247 Sports Composite who are listed as wideouts and stand at least 6-foot-5.
And the Virginia Cavaliers now have one of them. In a signing day flip, Nathaniel Beal switched from Iowa State to UVA.
Signed to UVA. pic.twitter.com/nlQhe9cOmL
— NATHANIEL BEAL III/FREEBANDZ (@cantguardnb3) December 19, 2018
Beal—all 6-foot-5, 205 pounds of him—hails from Strake Jesuit in Houston. In addition to his Iowa State and Virginia offers, Beal held Power Five offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, and Purdue. Yale, Columbia, and Cornell also offered Beal, as did a number of smaller Texas schools.
Just a few minutes of tape shows you why Virginia went after this commitment. Beal doesn’t just look big—he plays big, too. Sure hands, good leaping, long strides to power him through open space: this is a quarterback’s dream to be on the other end of any jump ball.
The wide receivers in UVA’s 2019 class are now a pretty good-sized bunch, both in terms of total numbers and individual measurements. Beal is 6-5, 205; recent commit Dontayvion Wicks is 6-3, 200; and long-time commit Dorien Goddard is at least 6-3, 210. Adding them to the speedy little fellas—like 2019 commit Seneca Milledge or freshman standout Tavares Kelly—and you’ve got yourself an impressive receiver room.