Texas may have just suffered a bigger loss than the Longhorns collapse to Oklahoma. On Sunday, five-star wide receiver commit Easton Royalflipped his commitment from Texas to the Florida Gators.
The Texas Longhorns have held a commitment with the 2027 five-star since last November. But he kept has recruitment open and was still being heavily recruited by the LSU Tigers and more recently the Florida Gators. Royal's interest in the Gators has ramped up this fall. The New Orleans prospect has been a frequent visitor to Gainesville since the college football season began.
On Sunday, Florida officially completed the flip and added Royal to new coach Jon Sumral's inaugural class. Royal is one of the best recruits to ever commit to Texas. The 5-foot-11,
200 pound blue chipper is the No. 1 WR in the 2027 class, the No. 1 player from Louisiana and the No. 3 ranked overall prospect in the class.
BREAKING: 5-star WR Easton Royal has flipped his commitment from Texas to Florida 🐊
— Tyler Harden (@ttjharden8) October 11, 2026
Royal, a 5-foot-11 1/2, 214-pound wide receiver from New Orleans, Louisiana had been committed to Texas since November 2025.
Absolutely massive win for the Gators.
➡️: https://t.co/YZXVlbToOB pic.twitter.com/o65cExFF6U
"It's just way more energy in the air, completely different philosophy, energy in the building, their offense is completely different," Royal told 247Sports. "It's a lot of new things that they have to offer that makes this staff so great."
Royal had 2,095 all-purpose yards and 29 touchdowns for Brother Martin as a junior and was Under Armour All-American. Royal is Florida's second five-star commitment of the cycle, joining offensive tackle Maxwell Hiller from Pennsylvania.
"[Florida's] attention to detail and family vibe they give," Royal told 247Sports. "They are probably one of the only schools that has five receiver coaches. You might think that's not good, but there are no egos, and every coach can provide something different to help you. I'm very familiar with coach (Jon) Sumrall. I took a visit to Tulane when he was there. I know he's a winning head coach."
A bad weekend for Texas coach Steve Sarkisian has gotten worse. An embarrassing loss to your rival and losing a generational recruit in a 24 hour period will hurt for years to come.
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This article originally appeared on Longhorns Wire: 2027 5-star WR Easton Royal flips his commitment from Texas to Florida
