This is one outlet's own report from Yahoo Sports — the article as it was filed. Other outlets are covering the same event; open the full story to compare every source side by side.
See the full story · 1 sourcesThis is one outlet's own report from Yahoo Sports — the article as it was filed. Other outlets are covering the same event; open the full story to compare every source side by side.
See the full story · 1 sourcesThe long drawn out saga of five-star wide receiver commit Easton Royal looks to be coming to an end this Wednesday. The Texas Longhorns pledge, who has continued to shop his talents , even after committing to Texas, indicates a final decision will happen this week.
The New Orleans native out of Brother Martin high school is a five-star and the consensus No. 6 ranked player in the class . But lately, it's started to look increasingly unlikely Royal ends up in Burnt Orange .
Royal committed to Texas in late November . But even with his Longhorns pledge, he's never seemed like he was 100% in on Steve Sarkisian's program in Austin. After his round of official visits, the SEC powerhouse in his home state is starting to look more and more likely to flip the speedy WR.
07/29
— Easton Royal🙏🏾⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️+ (@easton_3k) July 26, 2026 Many recruiting experts are now predicting Royal will end up at LSU.
"How often have we seen this with a kid that grew up 30 minutes from New Orleans? Originally, you know, it's Bama. It's Florida State. It's Miami. Whatever. But they sign with LSU." - Locked on recruiting expert Brian Smith
Rivals' Steve Wiltfong logged a prediction for Royal to flip his commitment from Texas to LSU. The "Fong Bomb" is most likely the result of solid intel from Royal or Royal's camp. In fact, Royal even responded to the Tweet and it wasn't a denial.
Man. Stick with Texas 🤘🏽 you can’t trust Lane Kiffen. He’s there one minute. Gone the next.
— Uncle Steve (@UncleSteveU) July 17, 2026 Royal said he hasn't talked to any coaches over the past month: He and his family have been in decision mode.
“Honestly, this past month, I haven’t talked to a single coach or anybody from any school. Me and my mom have been sitting down, weighing out all the pros and cons, to make sure I make the best decision for me." - Five-star WR Easton Royal
But the five-star admits LSU is trending. Royal said LSU made a significant jump during his official visit to Baton Rouge.
“All day at school, all of my friends are pushing me to flip to the LSU Tigers. You only get this process once – so I’m committed to Texas, but I’m still trying to figure out if that’s the best decision for me. The ultimate end goal is to make the best decision for my family and me. Coach Lane [Kiffin] and I are building a relationship. He texts me often, just telling me to have a good week - sending me videos, motivating me, and recruiting me to be an LSU Tiger.” - Five-star WR Easton Royal
Texas has always seemed like a placeholder. Committing to a program early, but continuing the recruiting process as if uncommitted is a longtime strategy with some of the highest ranked recruits. Especially in the NIL and player compensation era when you're trying to drive up your price. It's part of the game if you want to try to sign five-stars. The placeholder school, if the prospect ends up elsewhere, always feels betrayed.
Royal might be the best wide receiver recruit Texas coach Steve Sarkisian has ever gotten to commit to the Longhorns . But it's could also become Sark's biggest loss.
This article originally appeared on Longhorns Wire: Texas five-star commit Easton Royal indicates final decision Wednesday
AIPROPX is an independent multi-source news index — we track, compare, and connect coverage from across the web into one place you won't find anywhere else.