Could 5-star wide receiver Easton Royal be the next Jordan Faison or Malachi Fields? Marcus Freeman and his crew are certainly hoping that he will at least be the next highly ranked prospect to join the Fighting Irish eventually.
Earlier this week, Royal officially got an offer from the Irish, and it's clear that he likes what he heard from Freeman. On3's Kyle Kelly reported that Royal told him that he's very impressed with what Freeman has done: "He’s a winning head coach. He took Notre Dame to a national championship."
Notre Dame has its foot in the door, but Easton Royal has offers from some of the best programs in the country. The 5-foot-11, 185-pound pass catcher has offers from Ohio State, LSU, Georgia, and Miami, and he's currently committed to the Texas Longhorns.
How Easton Royal fits Notre Dame’s recent wide receiver recruiting trend
The Rivals Industry Ranking's No. 7 overall player and top prospect in Louisiana in the 2027 class attempted to put an early end to his recruitment by pledging to the Longhorns on November 29. However, teams have continued to come calling for the talented receiver, and the Fighting Irish have made a little headway.
It's not hard to see why Freeman and his crew have a ton of interest in the Brother Martin pass catcher. Royal is one of the most explosive wide receivers in the country. He reports a 4.29-second 40-yard dash and a 10.3-second mark in the 100 meters. This past season, his blazing speed allowed him to tally 54 catches for 1,374 yards (an eye-popping 24.1 YPC) and 19 touchdowns.
Royal is among a crop of some of the best wide receivers in the country that Notre Dame has offered in the last few weeks. After scoring quite a few very talented WRs in the last couple of recruiting classes, Easton Royal would be the creme of the crop.