Will Texas Football lose 5-star WR commit Easton Royal to LSU?

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Easton Royal is one of the best players in the 2027 recruiting class. The New Orleans native out of Brother Martin high school is a five-star and the consensus No. 6 ranked player in the class. He's also a Texas commit. But it seems increasingly likely he won't end up a Texas signee.

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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. Texas seems more 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 era when you're trying to drive up your own 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.

It seems like this is what Royal might be doing. He has continued taking official visits and has been to Baton Rouge many times to visit Lane Kiffin and LSU. Before his Texas official visit last month, he said he was “just seeing if they’ll be able to close the deal, honestly.”

The speedy wide out continues to publicly keep the door open.

"Trying to lock down my commitment, and I think they did a really good job towards that, but you know obviously, me and my mom still got things to talk about, but they definitely set the tone the right way," - Easton Royal (June 2026)

“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.” - Easton Royal (April 2026)

“I won’t cut relationships off, and I will take visits, but Texas is the school that feels right for me," - Easton Royal (Dec. 2025)

Last week, Texas lost a commitment to LSU. Greedy James flipped from the Longhorns to the Tigers. He immediately started saying he's going to try to bring Royal with him.

"My dog Easton Royal, for sure. We've already been talking," James told 247Sports.

And Royal responded in a way that seems like he's definitely playing LSU and Texas off each other.

Royal is possibly the best wide receiver recruit Sark has ever had commit to Texas. But keeping him onboard until National Signing Day might be a bridge too far.

This article originally appeared on Longhorns Wire: Will Texas Football lose 5-star WR commit Easton Royal to LSU?

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