Jeff Beverly just returned from hiking near San Antonio when his cellphone rang Tuesday morning.

“Five miles,” he proclaimed proudly. “Just the second day I’ve been doing it.

“Not bad, huh?”

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Wednesday, Beverly will hike up to Iowa State, where he’s 99.9 percent sure he’ll accept basketball coach Steve Prohm’s scholarship offer.

“I will commit when I get there,” Beverly told me. “I want to be a Cyclone. I can’t lie to you.”

The 6-foot-6, 250-pound forward is a play-now graduate transfer from Texas-San Antonio, where this hiking hooper also gave football a shot. He averaged 15.8 points and 5.9 rebounds for a basketball team that went 14-19. He started all 33 games. He averaged 26.9 minutes a game – and he gets his sociology degree May 13.

Next stop?

Iowa State, where comparisons to Deonte Burton will quickly begin.

“Burton is a freak,” Beverly said, a term often-used to describe someone with off-the-chart ability. “An absolute freak.”

The 6-5, 250-pound Burton averaged 15.1 points and 6.2 rebounds during his senior season. Burton, however, was a 37.5 percent three-point shooter, while Beverly enters Iowa State as a career 28.1 percent distance shooter.

“I’m a mismatch four,” Beverly said when asked to describe his game. “Great teammate. Great communicator.”

He also tossed in the word “grit,” which is what the next Cyclones team needs. He’ll get minutes in and around the post, where it won’t be crazy to think he could average 10 points and six or so rebounds.

Remember, it’s not as if Iowa State is brimming with proven talent at that position once getting past Solomon Young.

And it’s not like the Cyclones have exactly filled the three-point shooting void left behind by seniors Matt Thomas, Naz Mitrou-Long, Monte Morris, and Burton, either.

That quartet combined for 283 of Iowa State’s 344 three-point baskets a season ago. Just 56 of 132 attempts return — and that includes Donovan Jackson’s 44-for-97.

There’s still plenty of time for Prohm to fill the two scholarships remaining, once Beverly becomes official. It’s a long time between now and when classes start in August.

He’s reported to have interest in Wright State transfer Mark Alstork and Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College transfer Davion Cole-Johnson, a pair of guards who both make around 35 percent of their three-point shots.

Whatever distance-shooting Beverly can contribute will be a plus, but that’s not his forte.

He’s more or a mid-range guy and remember — it’s been a while since the Cyclones have had a truly rugged player at that position.

A guy like Beverly, who has that same tight end-like build that Burton has.

“People told me that I had that kind of body,” but I’d never played football before,” Beverly said. “So why not try it out?”

He went through summer conditioning in 2015 after transferring from McLennan Community College in Texas, where he played basketball.

He hung with football through fall camp. He was on the team the first two games. He eventually decided to play basketball, and redshirted after joining the team during the 2015-16 season.

“I just wanted to give football a try,” Beverly said. “I didn’t really know what to expect.”

Kind of like hiking.

“I had to try it,” he said.

And Iowa State?

“Can’t wait to get up there on Wednesday,” he added.

Randy Peterson, senior sports reporter, has been with the Register for parts of five decades. Randy writes opinion and analysis of Iowa State football and basketball. You can reach Randy at rpeterson@dmreg.com or on Twitter at @RandyPete