Texas lands 2027 5-star WR Royal, flips 2026 DE Carlton

Texas and coach Steve Sarkisian got on the board in the 2027 recruiting class on Saturday when five-star wide receiver Easton Royal, No. 16 in the ESPN Junior 300, announced his commitment to the Longhorns.

Royal’s commitment comes as the Longhorns also work to put the finishing touches on their 2026 recruiting class, which currently ranks seventh in ESPN’s class rankings for the cycle.

Hours after Royal’s pledge, Texas flipped the commitment of four-star Baylor defensive end pledge Jamarion Carlton, ESPN’s No. 96 overall prospect in the 2026 class.

A longtime Longhorns target, Carlton visited Texas multiple times over the last month, including Friday’s 27-17 win over No. 3 Texas A&M. He’s now the third-ranked of nine ESPN 300 defenders set to sign with the Longhorns when the early signing period opens on Wednesday.

Royal, a 6-foot, 195-pound pass catcher from New Orleans, is ESPN’s No. 3 wide receiver in the 2027 cycle. He picked Texas over Ole Miss, LSU, Oregon and a long list of other Power 4 programs.

Royal lands as the first member in the Longhorns’ 2027 class less than 24 hours after visiting the program during its win over Texas A&M.

Royal is a junior at Louisiana’s Brother Martin High School, where he hauled in 53 catches for 1,151 yards and 17 touchdowns this fall. He now trails only five-stars Jamier Brown (Ohio State) and Jalen Brewster (Texas Tech) as ESPN’s highest-ranked commit in the 2027 class.

Three-star UCLA safety commit Toray Davis was another prominent flip target on campus in Week 14.

The Longhorns are also continuing to push on a pair of top-100 LSU pledges, offensive tackle Brysten Martinez (No. 84) and defensive tackle Richard Anderson (No. 90), prior to this week’s early signing period. As things stand, four-star wide receiver Chris Stewart (No. 185) is the lone ESPN 300 pass catcher set to sign with the Longhorns in the 2026 class.