Intriguing Easton Royal comments keep leaving door open for Jon Sumrall's 5-star flip

It goes without saying, but the biggest recruiting target still on the board for Jon Sumrall and Florida has to be 5-star wide receiver Easton Royal, who remains committed to Texas... for now. There's a three-team battle still going on for the speedster, with Texas, Florida, and LSU all still in the hunt to sign this kid once the Early Signing Period arrives.

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As things stand, he's Austin-bound, but Royal is doing nothing to give the Texas faithful confidence that he's going to play for Steve Sarkisian at the next level. Fresh off his official visit with the Longhorns this past week, Royal made it clear that he had a great time meeting with Sark and his staff, but he also added that things aren't fully shut down for him. That's enough to leave the door open for Sumrall to pull off what would be a stunning flip:

Florida and Jon Sumrall are still working overtime to flip Easton Royal from Texas

This really makes it seem like Royal, a Louisiana native, is torn on what to do. While he told reporters that he's still 'firm' with his pledge to Texas, it's quite obvious that he's a soft commit right now, especially with two other big-time programs doing everything they can to change his mind. Lane Kiffin won't back down, but neither will Sumrall.

Not long ago, Royal made his way to campus for his Florida official visit, and Sumrall rolled out the red carpet for him. It helped that fellow 5-star playmaker Jalen Brewster was also in Gainesville for a memorable weekend. Brewster is currently Texas Tech-bound, but just like with Royal, Florida is on its grind to see if maybe he'll have a change of heart as well.

With Royal in particular, it's safe to say that a final decision won't be coming in the next day or two. This is clearly something that he and his family are having a bit of trouble making a decision about, which is completely understandable. It was a bit of a surprise when he first committed to Sark, but we all knew his recruitment was going to be far from over.

Florida has made it beyond clear that they want Royal to be a Gator in the future, with the staff selling him on a dream of helping the SEC powerhouse get back to the level of the glory days. With Royal being ranked the No. 1 wideout in the country per the 247Sports Composite and No. 6 player nationally for the 2027 class, it's clear why Sumrall is dreaming of getting good news from the youngster soon.

It's totally up in the air if that's going to end up happening or not, though. Again, for now, Royal is committed to Texas, with both LSU and Florida chasing the Longhorns a bit. With that said, this is clearly a marathon of a recruiting race and nothing close to a sprint. There's plenty of time for Sumrall to work his magic, and a statement would no question be made if Royal does end up picking the Gators over both the Horns and Tigers.

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