5-star WR Easton Royal will be in the Swamp this fall, but Florida faces an uphill battle

The Easton Royal hunt continues and the Florida Gators are still in the picture for the five-star wide receiver.

Royal has announced his in-season visits for the upcoming season and the Texas commit will take in games in Austin, Gainesville and Baton Rouge to watch LSU. He will be at The Swamp on September 26 with the Gators host Ole Miss.

As you can see, Royal will be busy, and it looks like LSU and Texas will get the double dip with Royal going to Austin on September 12 for the Longhorns game against Ohio State. The week before that, he'll be in Death Valley to watch LSU play Clemson, and then he gets to see the Tigers and Longhorns lock up on November 14 — a few weeks before the Early Signing Period.

Royal is the top-ranked wide receiver in the country according to the 247Sports Composite. He is rated as the fifth-best overall recruit. 

READ MORE: Recent recruiting buzz adds another wrinkle to Florida's pursuit of Easton Royal

Easton Royal's visit schedule gives Florida a slim chance

Anything can happen in recruiting, so never say never, but if we weren't sure where Florida stands in the pecking order in this three-way battle, the fact that he's seeing the Gators only once speaks loudly. There might be a second opportunity when the Gators travel to Austin to play Texas on October 17, but Royal didn't announce that game as part of his schedule.

The Gators have seemed to fade in the race for Royal ever since his visit to campus back on June 11. Royal appeared to have a great visit and took everyone on the ride through clips posted on social media.

What still gives the Gators a chance is that Florida has been a favorite school of Royal's for a long time. Before his commitment to the Longhorns last November, it was thought that Florida was trending for that pledge, but the dismissal of Billy Napier forced the Gators to reset their recruitment with him.

Royal and Jon Sumrall had a previous relationship when the coach was at Tulane and that helped Florida get back in the picture. 

"He's been in Louisiana a long time, so he's adapted to it…he knows a little bit about where Louisiana guys come from. I know he's a winner," Royal said about his relationship with Sumrall.

But the general feeling is that LSU appears to be the team to beat. There have been predictions that Royal would eventually end up in Baton Rouge to play for Lane Kiffin and the Tigers are sitting pretty with the elite pass catcher taking two trips to Tiger Stadium this season. 

Still, the Gators have a spot at the table, and it'll be on Sumrall and the staff to put their best foot forward when Royal arrives in Gainesville. And it wouldn't hurt Florida to knock off Ole Miss in front of a raucous crowd to show Royal what life is like when the Gators are good. 

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