The Florida Gators have pulled off one of the biggest flips of the year, stealing five-star wide receiver Easton Royal from the Texas Longhorns, according to Hayes Fawcett of Rivals.

Jon Sumrall and the rest of Florida's coaching staff have been working on Royal for months, despite him being committed to Texas since Nov. 29, 2025. They got him to Gainesville on June 11 for an official visit, as they and the LSU Tigers worked to flip the New Orleans, Louisiana native from the Longhorns.

They got him back on campus this weekend for an unofficial visit for their game against the South Carolina Gamecocks. While they were unable to get the win, it was enough to seal the deal.

Royal is ranked as the No. 5 overall player and No. 1 wide receiver in the Rivals industry rating. He is Florida's second five-star commit, joining interior offensive lineman Maxwell Hiller, the No. 2 player in the country. The Gators are now the only school in the country to have two of the top five players committed.

He is one of the most dynamic playmakers in the 2027 recruiting class and excels at using his track speed to get open and make players miss. He was unstoppable as a junior at Brother Martin High School, catching 57 passes for 1,374 yards and 19 touchdowns, rushing for 277 yards and five more scores, and returning kicks for touchdowns.

BREAKING: Five-Star Plus+ WR Easton Royal has Flipped his Commitment from Texas to Florida, he tells me for @Rivals
The No. 1 WR in the 2027 class had been Committed to the Longhorns since November 2025
“Dreams to reality”https://t.co/YyHkgx8rS7pic.twitter.com/III41lZvZx

— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) October 11, 2026

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This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: Florida flips five-star WR Easton Royal from Texas

Source: Yahoo Sports