Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian had two things to celebrate towards the end of November last year. The Longhorns outshone Texas A&M on November 28, continuing their resurgence in the season. And on November 29, Sarkisian won the commitment of the country’s top wide receiver prospect, Easton Royal. It is a massive win for Texas, especially having pulled the victory in the midst of a disappointing season. But other SEC giants are planning to spoil his party.

Four major SEC programs are aggressively pursuing Royal, and he is making sure to get the best deal. He first visited Tennessee on March 29 and praised the program’s WR room along with its NFL pipeline. He built a great relationship with WR coach Kelsey Pope, who has sent 4 Tennessee wideouts to the NFL. For a WR of Royal’s caliber, Knoxville seemed like a great place.

“Tennessee is one of the top three at producing receivers, and I saw the statistics before [Kelsey Pope] got to Tennessee and how he develops receivers,” Royal told Rivals. “They’ve had 800-yard receivers, Biletnikoff winners, draft picks. They showed me the route tree, how it translates to NFL offenses, in-game concepts, and NFL teams running the same thing this past season.”

Cedric Tillman went in the third round in 2023, following a 1,081 receiving yard performance. Do’nte Thornton Jr., on the other hand, led the nation in yards per catch (25.4) and had six 50+ yard receptions, as the Raiders drafted him in the fourth round.

LSU is fighting to keep Easton Royal at home

For now, Easton Royal has kept his recruitment wide open. He will officially visit Ole Miss on May 1, Florida on June 11, and Texas on June 19. But before he embarks on his official visits, he has already visited both Florida and LSU over the course of past 30 days. Being a native of New Orleans, in-state LSU made a good impression on Royal.

“Coach Kiffin and Coach G-Mac [George MacDonald] and I have a great relationship,” Royal said about his LSU visit the past weekend. “They’re always showing me how different the culture has changed and how it’s already different. They’re projecting to be one of the best offenses in the country. Lane Kiffin is an offensive mastermind. I’m excited to see what they do.”

“Everybody in the building is always competing, especially Coach Kiffin. It’s a lot more physical than last year, and the tension is up at practice,” Royal said. “Everybody is flying around … A completely new philosophy I feel in the building.”

Royal is currently a junior at Louisiana’s Brother Martin High School and racked up 1,151 yards with 17 TDs this fall. Lane Kiffin will do everything to swoop him. He is already in the process of building a strong offense, with quarterbacks like Sam Leavitt and Husan Longstreet in the fold. At Ole Miss, the offensive show in Kiffin’s final year was beyond impressive. Since that potential has now come to Baton Rouge, LSU will always look to have someone like Royal be part of the roster.

But to do that, Kiffin must eliminate competition from Jon Sumrall in Gainesville.

Easton Royal loves Jon Sumrall’s energy at Florida

Royal is one of the most explosive receivers in the country. Recently, he made his OT7 debut, and his performances were a treat to watch. He was part of the Cold Hearts team that went undefeated this weekend, and Royal stood out for his two impressive plays. In one of them, he caught a difficult downfield pass in the middle, anchored his feet in the field, and outran the entire secondary trying to tackle him for a touchdown. That’s exactly the kind of exlosiveness Jon Sumrall needs at Florida.

“It’s different. He’s completely changed the energy,” Easton Royal said about Sumrall. “It was loud during practice. A lot of energy. You can hear Coach Sumrall anywhere in the building. He’s hype, he wants to be there. He sat me down in his office and told me that if I came there, he guaranteed he’d be there every year.

“The coaches had great energy, and the players fed off it. They’re going hard off each other. …It was great.”

When Sumrall was at Tulane, he had recruited Royal heavily. Even though he’s moved to the higher ranks of college football, his skills as a recruiter show with the WR still being interested in playing under him. However, Ole Miss is also a threat Florida has to watch out for.

Can Texas withstand the four-front battle for Easton Royal?

Despite all the visits and rumors about Royal flipping his commitment, he hasn’t yet moved his needle away from Texas. The 5’11 and 200 lbs WR is already building a relationship with 5-star QB, Dia Bell. But he is still going to give Ole Miss a look, a program that has now hosted the WR thrice.

“Ole Miss is definitely one of the schools pushing hardest. Realistically, my best relationships are with them,” Royal said. “Patrick Carter offered me my freshman year. He’s developed me and showed me clips of how he gets his WR better, their hands better. Frank (Wilson) … That’s Uncle Frank. He has that very good hospitality, and he’s always taken care of me and my family.”

Another factor working in Ole Miss’s favor is its coordinator of player personnel, Jeremy Singleton. He had coached Royal in high school when he was a sophomore, and the relationship factor is currently the biggest for Royal’s interest in Ole Miss. The Rebels are also projected to go big in the future after coming off a playoff appearance in 2025. They already have an 11th-ranked 2027 class with 4 commitments, including 4-star QB Keegan Croucher.

Royal is still fishing for the best possible opportunity. He already has an elite career trajectory at Texas to look forward to, but when the country’s best programs are still fighting for him, he might as well give them some consideration. In Easton Royal’s own words, “Why not?” Is this battle Sarkisian’s to lose?