Easton Royal makes a big decision that has Jon Sumrall and Florida ready to take action

Easton Royal is trimming his list of potential suitors, and the Florida Gators made the cut. 

The five-star playmaker has canceled official visits to Ole Miss and Tennessee, according to Rivals' Sam Spiegelman, and will take his trip to Gainesville on the weekend of June 12. Royal is committed to Texas, but LSU and Florida are the schools most aggressively pursuing a flip and those will be the two programs he is focused on. The New Orleans prospect took his official visit to LSU last weekend.

Royal has made no secret of his interest in the Gators. The elite wide receiver came through Gainesville in the spring with his mom and both quickly bonded with head coach Jon Sumrall. The top-rated player in Louisiana has a clear affinity for the Gators coach and Sumrall got a good look at Royal when he was right down the road coaching Tulane. 

"He's been in Louisiana a long time, so he's adapted to it…he knows a little bit where Louisiana guys come from. I know he's a winner," Royal told 247Sports' Tyler Harden.

If there is a player in the 2027 recruiting class worth the hype, it's Royal. He's been an absolute beast at Brother Martin in the Crescent city. As a wide receiver, Royal had 54 receptions for 1,374 yards and 19 touchdowns. He also did some work at running back and averaged over 24 yards per touch on the ground. With Royal on the field, the game plan is simple — get him the ball and let him cook.

5-star WR Easton Royal will give Florida a shot to flip him

Florida is going to pull out all the stops for Royal when he gets to campus next weekend, but the competition with LSU to flip him from the Longhorns promises to be fierce. Lane Kiffin and Ed Orgeron are trying to be a fence around Louisiana when it comes to the elite prospects, and the new Tigers head coach has spent a lot of time recruiting the top players in New Orleans.

"[Royal] is spending a lot of time around the program, has regular dialogue with [Kiffin]. He truly believes LSU is going to be one of the most explosive offenses in the country," On3/Rivals national recruiting director Steve Wiltfong said. 

Sumrall is hoping to counter Kiffin's presence with his own strong relationship with Royal. Florida's offense is a little more of a question mark right out the gate because offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner will be going with a less experienced quarterback, whether that's Aaron Philo or Trammel Jones Jr., but the Gators have a ton of playmakers and Faulkner knows how to get those guys in space to do damage. 

And let's not forget Texas, which has the advantage of Royal's commitment and all the resources that come with that program. 

"It's hard to flip an elite from Texas, particularly a wide receiver where Steve Sarkisian has coached some of college football's best wide outs over the last decade," Wiltfong added.

It's going to be a tough recruiting battle that might come down to the wire, but Sumrall has already shown that he's built for this life.

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