Easton Royal

It's no secret that LSU is in hot pursuit of the #1 wide receiver in the country and Louisiana-native, Easton Royal.While the five-star wideout has been committed to Texas for the past eight months, Lane Kiffin and co. have been in direct contact since making their way to Baton Rouge -- which happened to be just one day after Royal committed to the Longhorns.ICYMI -- TigerBait had the scoop on how the Tigers staff felt following Royal's latest visit on LSU's campus, last weekend.----------Rumors have been swirling with reports of LSU making Royal an NIL offer that would make him the highest-paid high school wide receiver in collegiate football history...While that would be music to Tigers fans ears, TigerBait has been told that is NOT the case -- in fact, we can exclusively report that heading into the weekend, Texas had the highest NIL offer to Royal, and the Longhorns even upped their current deal with the elite playmaker, this weekend, prior to Royal's arrival in Baton Rouge -- adding more credence to Royal's words that Steve Sarkisian and co. are recruiting him as if he's not committed to them, which he is.The Tigers will ABSOLUTELY push until the final whistle with Royal, and I feel good that Kiffin and Tigers' wide receivers coach, George McDonald can get the job done and keep the #1 wideout in the country home for college -- but at this time, LSU has NOT made Royal an offer to make him the highest-paid WR in the history of college football -- and not only that, the Tigers do NOT have the highest current offer for the elite prospect.----------Now, Royal, is set for an OV to Gainesville, where he'll meet with Florida and their new-look staff before returning to Austin for one final OV to the college he's currently committed to, Texas.From what TigerBait has learned over the past couple of days is that this recruitment is expected to come down to LSU and Texas. Royal canceled OVs to both Ole Miss and Tennessee, last week, but didn't remove the Gators -- however, according to sources, this is likely Royal doing a courtesy to new Florida coach, Jon Sumrall, who Royal developed a relationship with from Sumrall's time as Tulane's head coach, as Tulane's campus is a 15-minute drive from Royal's HS, Brother Martin, in New Orleans.While nothing is official until pen hits paper in 2026 in collegiate sports, anything can happen -- but as of this writing, it's a LSU and Texas battle for the #1 receiver in the country.