The Texas Longhorns pulled off a massive recruitment effort when they landed a commitment from five-star wide receiver Easton Royal.
However, since then, the Horns and head coach Steve Sarkisian haven't exactly had a smooth road with their blue-chip commit.
Royal, who committed to Texas in November of last year, has continued to go on visits to other programs and has done everything but shut down the rumors that he could flip his commitment away from the Horns.
Most recently, Royal praised yet another program in the SEC: the Tennessee Volunteers, just the latest team to be lumped into the possible candidates for his flip watch.
“The biggest takeaway I had was the time with Coach Pope,” Royal told Rivals about Tennessee wide receivers coach Kelsey Pope. “Tennessee is one of the top three at producing receivers, and I saw the statistics before he got to Tennessee and how he develops receivers.”
Tennessee Volunteers have caught Easton Royal's attention
He's right, the Vols have been dominant at producing talented wide receivers over the last few years, but so has Texas with elite wideouts like Xavier Worthy, Collin Johnson, and more.
“They’ve had 800-yard receivers, Biletnikoff winners, draft picks," Royal said about the Vols. "They showed me the route tree, how it translates to NFL offense, in-game concepts, and NFL teams running the same thing this past season.”
It's not a promising sign that the wideout has such massive praise for another team in the Longhorns' own conference, comparing Tennessee to professional teams.
2027 five-star WR Easton Royal had high praise for Tennessee’s offense and its ability to develop receivers 🍊
— FOX Sports Knoxville (@FOXSportsKnox) May 21, 2026
“The biggest takeaway I had was the time with Coach Pope,” Royal told Rivals. “Tennessee is one of the top three at producing receivers, and I saw the statistics before… pic.twitter.com/surVIpcy4o
While Royal hasn't given any genuine indication that his commitment will flip, his continued love and adoration for other teams is far from a settling feeling.
Royal has also visited teams like the Florida Gators, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, and more over the last few months, adding fuel to the fire that has been roaring since the day he committed to Texas.
The five-star wide receiver is the Longhorns' top recruit in their class of 2027, pushing Texas's group of 11 recruits into the top 20. If he were to decommit from the Horns, it could drop their recruiting class down the national rankings.
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