It really only felt like a matter of time until 5-star wideout Easton Royal broke Texas hearts everywhere. Both Florida and LSU were pushing hard to flip him, with the call finally getting over the line for the Gators.
With Royal in Gainesville this weekend for yet another visit, news just dropped that he's no longer going to be Austin-bound. That's right, Royal has officially flipped his commitment to play for Florida and Jon Sumrall. This update arriving less than 24 hours after Texas suffered its stunning loss to Oklahoma only makes life worse, too.
BREAKING: Five-Star Plus+ WR Easton Royal has Flipped his Commitment from Texas to Florida, he tells me for @Rivals
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) October 11, 2026
The No. 1 WR in the 2027 class had been Committed to the Longhorns since November 2025
“Dreams to reality”https://t.co/YyHkgx8rS7 pic.twitter.com/III41lZvZx
Easton Royal has officially flipped his commitment from Texas to Florida
It's not quite a surprise that Royal has turned his back on Texas here, as he's been flirting with other schools for quite some time. If anything, the small stunner is that he has picked Florida over LSU, as it looked like Lane Kiffin was going to be able to keep the Louisiana product close to home.
Instead, Sumrall has been working overtime to get this over the line, and despite the loss to South Carolina, it didn't impact Royal from ultimately changing his mind here. Again, this was something that Texas fans were bracing for, but that still doesn't mean this doesn't sting a bit.
Royal had been committed to Texas since last November, and it was a monster get for Steve Sarkisian and his staff. The 6-0, 215-pounder seemed excited about his future in the SEC, but the 5-star receiver and nation's No. 1 wideout (per the 247Sports Composite) will be donning a different jersey at the college level than the one everyone in the Lone Star State was hoping for.
Despite losing Royal as a member of the 2027 class, the Longhorns still hold 21 known pledges. The long list includes 5-star offensive tackle Ismael Camara, who is now the main headliner of the group. Keep in mind, too, that the Texas haul is ranked No. 5 in the country - it's still loaded as a whole and one loss doesn't ruin things.
However, with how excited people were for Royal's future in Austin, this indeed is a bit of a bummer, even if the youngster essentially had one foot out the door for a little bit of time. Monshun Sales was another 5-star wideout Texas swung and missed on. Now that Royal is off to Florida, might the Longhorns circle back on the Indiana commit? That's unknown, but what we do know is that Royal won't be making plays for Texas down the road.
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