Easton Royal and Jalen Brewster can make July even hotter for LSU

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Lane Kiffin and his staff have the Tigers on a recruiting heater right now. Considering this staff has not even been together for a full seven months, the quality of the class, the number of recruits, and the volume of commitments they have assembled over the past several months have been nothing short of astonishing. Even when you factor in the prospects they have missed on, their ability to consistently get some of the nation’s top players on campus for official visits has been equally impressive.

When it comes to recruiting, relationships matter. This staff may have had prior relationships with some of these players before arriving at LSU, but changing schools and moving into a different region of the country can often push recruits away just as easily as it can attract new ones. In a relatively short amount of time, however, this staff has built strong relationships throughout the 2027 class while helping recruits understand the LSU brand they are now representing.

That extends all the way to the No. 1 player in the nation, Jalen Brewster.

Brewster had some familiarity with the staff before the coaching change, but things really began to take off when Lane Kiffin brought back Coach O and got Brewster on campus for an early official visit. During that visit, several clips Brewster shared of his interactions with Coach O went viral on social media. Those moments made it obvious that Brewster was developing a genuine relationship with Coach O.

Since leaving Baton Rouge, Brewster has consistently showcased LSU across his social media accounts. Almost daily, he has posted photos or videos of himself training while wearing LSU gear. During that same stretch, he has only featured Texas Tech—the school to which he is currently committed—once or twice.

The Tigers have elevated this recruiting class to the verge of a top-10 class nationally without Brewster. Behind the scenes, though, the staff continues answering every question and meeting every challenge in an effort to flip the nation’s top prospect from Texas Tech.

Brewster even documented his LSU official visit on his YouTube channel. During his photoshoot, you could see his genuine reactions to being inside Tiger Stadium and on LSU’s campus.

Earlier this summer, many believed his recruitment had become a three-team race with Texas Tech leading while LSU and Florida attempted to close the gap. As the summer has progressed, however, sources close to Brewster’s recruitment have narrowed the race to LSU and Texas Tech, with many around LSU believing the Tigers are in an excellent position to land him.

July has essentially become a pseudo early signing period for recruiting. Most commitments made during this month tend to stick, and there is a growing feeling around Brewster and his camp that he would like to have his recruitment settled before beginning his senior season at Cedar Hill High School.

Yes, being from Texas matters. However, this situation is different from the one involving Easton Royal, who we’ll discuss shortly.

Cedar Hill is roughly a five-hour drive from Texas Tech. That is not a recruit who is playing in Texas Tech’s backyard. In fact, they’re not even in the same neighborhood. Compare that to roughly a six-hour and 25-minute drive to Baton Rouge. It’s only about a 90-minute difference. No matter which school Brewster chooses, he is still leaving home.

LSU has closed the gap significantly on the nation’s top prospect. At this point, Brewster feels more like an LSU Tiger than a Texas Tech commit being recruited to flip.

That’s exactly how Easton Royal feels.

Royal is currently committed to Texas. While the Longhorns have held onto his commitment since late November, LSU and Lane Kiffin have done everything possible to separate themselves from Texas and every other program pursuing him.

It was extremely important for Texas to secure Royal’s commitment when it did. As I’ve said from the very beginning, recruiting a committed Easton Royal is much different than recruiting an uncommitted Easton Royal.

Not only was the commitment itself important, but so was the timing.

Royal announced his commitment on November 29, 2025. The very next day, Lane Kiffin was introduced as LSU’s head coach.

There were a lot of moving parts during that coaching transition, and once again, relationships proved to be critical throughout the process.

Royal may be the best overall athlete in this recruiting class. When you watch him play, you see a prospect who is 6-foot, 205 pounds, runs a reported 4.2-second 40-yard dash, and has clocked a 10.17-second 100 meters. Elite athleticism is the only way to describe him.

On top of that, he is the No. 1 wide receiver in the nation and the No. 1 player in Louisiana.

That is exactly why LSU cannot afford to lose him—especially to an SEC rival like Texas.

Yes, this is Lane Kiffin’s first recruiting class, but it is vital to establish early that the best players in Louisiana stay in Louisiana.

Royal completed his official visit schedule, and at one point there were rumors that he might not even take his official visit to Texas during the final weekend. Ultimately, he made the trip to Austin.

Since then, Royal hasn’t been nearly as outspoken with LSU apparel as Brewster has, but there have been several interesting breadcrumbs along the way.

LSU recently flipped Greedy James from Texas. During that time, Royal shared posts centered around James and his commitment announcement. When James was asked who he planned to recruit next, the only name he mentioned was Easton Royal.

The two have a very strong relationship.

Royal also spent time in Oregon, where he played alongside current LSU commitments Peyton Houston and Trey Martin.

Just a few days ago, Royal shared LSU’s official photo of Lane Kiffin from media day, sending social media into a frenzy. Shortly afterward, Royal also posted photos of Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian and Florida head coach Jon Sumrall—the coach of the program widely viewed as running third in his recruitment behind Texas and LSU.

Texas has a lot to offer Royal. What it cannot offer, however, is LSU’s unmatched legacy at wide receiver—especially for receivers from Louisiana.

Jack Marucci recently appeared on In the Bayou with Tyrann Mathieu and shared an incredible statistic about LSU wide receivers.

“Since 2000, if you’re named a starter for five games, you have a 75% chance of playing in the NFL. If you’re named a starter for 10 games, that number jumps to 87%.”

He also noted that since 2012, LSU wide receivers have earned more than $500 million in NFL contracts.

That’s literally just different.

Word around Royal’s recruitment is beginning to suggest that, much like Brewster, he would like to enter his senior season with his decision finalized. Royal also has a birthday coming up soon, leading many to speculate that he could announce something around that time.

Whether that happens remains to be seen.

However, if LSU can flip both Brewster and Royal this month, it could propel the Tigers into the nation’s top five recruiting classes in Lane Kiffin’s first season as head coach while making a loud statement about the recruiting standard LSU intends to uphold moving forward.

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