Beal, ranked No. 7 overall in the east and No. 38 nationally by Scout.com, denies a leader, but favors USC, Florida, Boston College and LSU. "All four are top teams and I think they all have a great shot to go to a BCS bowl," Beal said.

"During the pre-season, USC and LSU are ranked No. 1 and 2 and they are both great programs. They probably have the best athletes in the country, but LSU probably has a bit more speed than USC. But I don't think that will matter and if they both get to the national championship I think USC would win. They have great athletes at every position and with J.D. Booty running things and all their great coaches, I just don't think they'll lose."

Besides the Trojans winning the national championship, another prediction that Beal made was relating to the future of USC head coach Pete Carroll. "If they win the national championship this year, I don't expect him to stay at USC," Beal said. "It's only natural that he'd move on to the NFL, but it's not like they talk about that or anything. Of course I hear the rumors, but I'm not stupid. When you win that much it's bound to happen. Even if coach Carroll did leave for the NFL it wouldn't affect my decision. I think USC will be fine.

"USC is the number one team in the country and it's kind of the land of opportunity there," said Scout.com's No. 2 strongside linebacker. "The business school is one of the best and football-wise they can't be beat. It seems like the new linebacker-U. I also love their linebacker coach, Ken Norton. He's probably the best linebacker coach I've met and overall it's just one of the best stages to play college football."

Beal plans to visit USC on Sept. 21, but says that date isn't confirmed yet. He already has the rest of his visits scheduled as well. His first trip will be on Sept. 8 to Boston College when the Eagles take on North Carolina State.

"The academics at Boston College are great and they have an amazing pull on Wall Street," Beal said. "I think like 55 percent of Wall Street employees went to Boston College. It's also one of the best media markets in the country.

"I have a great relationship with the coaches and they even got to know my parents so we're all really comfortable with them."

Growing up, Beal always followed Boston College because his dad, Craig Beal, used to play middle linebacker for the Eagles. "I've always liked Boston College and they've got that legacy thing and it would be cool to follow in my dad's footsteps."

The weekend after his Boston College visit, Beal heads south to Florida for the Tennessee game on Sept. 15. "I have a great relationship with coach Urban Meyer," he said. "We speak the same language and we're both old school. We're hard-nosed, in your face, blue-collar kind of guys. He said that I could be the captain of the defense the way Tim Tebow is the captain of the offense. He said he is looking for someone to take over.

"I also love Gainesville and that it's a real college town," Beal said. "You are the celebrity there. The football players are all celebrities. Also their academic reputation is building up and they are getting harder and harder to get into."

Beal's final visit before making his announcement will be to LSU on Oct. 6, when the Tigers take on Florida. "LSU and USC are both recruiting me the hardest," Beal said. "They are consistently emailing me and writing me letters. They would also text me a lot during the summer as well.

"I love the linebacker coach (Bradley Dale Peveto) at LSU too," he said. "He's a great guy and very down-to-earth, but is also pretty hard-nosed as a coach. He's coached guys to the NFL and they are the No. 2 team in the country and I think Les Miles has them on the right track."

The Tigers are the only school in Beal's final four that he has yet to visit. "I'm really excited to go down there and check out the Cajun style," he said. "I'm sure it'll be different.

"I like all four teams and they each have something different to offer," Beal said. "I'm excited about taking my visits and really want to see who I have the best relationship with and which players I get along with best. I really just want to feel it in my heart that I belong somewhere. I think that's how I'm going to know for sure."

Beal and his new team, Liberty High School (transferred from Succasunna Roxbury, N.J., over the summer) in Bethlehem, open their season against Central Catholic High School on Sept. 1.

He reports a 4.3 core GPA, but is still waiting on his June SAT results. "Because of my transfer we're still trying to getting everything worked out with the clearinghouse and I haven't gotten my results yet."