Texas lost to Oklahoma in a shocker in the Red River Rivalry – then lost the commitment of a five-star recruit just hours later.
The Longhorns are set to lose their status as the No.1 team in the country after Tate Sandell’s 47-yard field goal as time expired gave the Sooners a 27-24 win.
And less than 24 hours later, Steve Sarkisian was dealt a further blow as the longest-tenured member of his 2027 recruiting class, wide receiver Easton Royal, flipped his commitment to Florida.
The five-star prospect is widely considered the top wide receiver in the class and is the No.8 overall prospect in the SC Next ESPN 300 list.
After interest from multiple SEC programs including LSU, Ole Miss and Tennessee, he has announced his shock decision to commit to Jon Sumrall and the Gators.
Royal’s NIL deal with the Gators is worth over $1.6 million, according to On3, after a massive financial package was put together to tempt him to Gainesville.
Five-star wide receiver Easton Royal has flipped his commitment from Texas to Florida
The decision comes less than 24 hours after Texas lost to Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry
Royal is one of the top players in the country and is set to make $1.6M in NIL earnings at Florida
Royal wrote on X: ‘Im hommee, dreams to reality!!,’ before later adding: ‘RECRUITMENT SHUT DOWN!! IM LOCKED IN!!’.
Royal took his latest visit to Florida on Saturday seeing his future team lose 38-19 to South Carolina on the same day as Texas’ surprising loss.
He is set to cancel visits to Texas and LSU he had scheduled as he shuts down his recruiting process, per ESPN.
Florida head coach Sumrall has recruited Royal since he was head coach at Tulane, offering him in March 2025 then resuming his pursuit when he took the Gators job.
‘I know [Sumrall] is a winner,’ Royal told ESPN this summer. ‘He won at Tulane and took them to the College Football Playoff. I know what he’s all about. He’s the type of coach I want to play for.’
Texas and Florida meet on Saturday at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. The Longhorns will be desperate to bounce back after Saturday’s shock loss to Oklahoma.
Head coach Sarkisian admitted there was ‘anger and frustration’ in the locker room after Saturday’s loss, and admitted: ‘If you expose yourself to these errors, good teams in this conference will take advantage of it. And you’ll get beat.’
But with one eye on next week’s game against the 4-2 Gators, he added: ‘What gives me confidence is the competitive spirit in that locker room.
‘They’re obviously disappointed. They’re frustrated. They wanted to win today more than anybody, believe me.’
