Devy Digest: Utah State WR Jalen Royals

Can Jalen Royals match his historic 2023 season this year and just what is his Devy/C2C value?

Utah State Aggies
Position: Wide Receiver
Jalen Royals
6’0” 210 lbs
Draft Eligible: 2025
Stats

Who is Jalen Royals?

Royals was an unranked prospect in the composites and attended Hillgrove High in Georgia. Royals was a multi-sport athlete; he made varsity as a basketball player and was an all-state high jumper. Royals did whatever he could to help the team. There were some games where they needed someone to step in at cornerback, and Royals would answer the lousy signal for the team. He would often overlook his offensive reps and do what the coaches needed from him. In his Senior season, Royals would have 26 receptions for 455 yards and four touchdowns. 

Royals was part of the 2020 recruiting class and did not receive any offers that appealed to him; he chose to go the JUCO route and attended Georgia Military College, where he would have seven receptions for 92 yards and two touchdowns. Royals didn’t see the playing field that often and thought about not pursuing football anymore. Royals would find a flyer about a tryout in Logan, Utah, and booked a flight 1,600 miles to a state and city he knew nothing about. Royals did agility drills for the coaches and ran a verified 40 in 4.33 seconds. The coaches gathered and asked Royals to rerun it, and he ran a 4.30 flat. 

Royals has a verified 6’0 height measurement and came in at 190 lbs. Royals would run routes for them and make an impression on the coaches. He flew back to Georgia without any commitments made by the University, and days later, the coaches called him and offered him a scholarship to Utah State. Royals would pack up his belongings and head west to Logan, Utah. 2022 was his first year in the program, and he played in 11 games, including a start against Boise State. Royals would not record a stat but would have four targets. That offseason, the coaches set goals for Royals. Royals kept getting jammed off the line and pushed off his routes. The coaches wanted him to work on getting off the line better, have better footwork, and have release packages to become a better player at the snap. Royals worked all summer and by spring camp. Royals impressed coaches with his work ethic and openness to being coached. 

Royals would earn a starting job for the Aggies in 2023, where he broke out and became a sensation. Royals would turn a weakness into a strength, and he possesses a slew of packages off the line and is one of the better receivers off the line. Combined with the verified 4.30 40 speed, the Royals have all the traits needed for the next level. Royals would have a stretch of seven touchdowns in eight quarters. Royals would go on an absolute tear in weeks five through seven with 20 receptions, 450 yards, and seven touchdowns. Royals would earn All-American honors to end the 2023 season and enter the 2024 season as the unquestioned leader for the Aggies. People will say betting on a group of 5 players at the next level is a bad bet, but that’s usually due to being undersized or having deficiencies as an athlete. Royals took a bit longer to put everything together, and he has been on record of not having any confidence; the coaches believed in him and kept coaching him up and trying to make him a better athlete. His confidence grew, and he became the player he is today because of the coaching staff at Utah State. Royals would turn down going into the portal and reaffirmed his commitment to the Aggies by accepting a NIL deal with the University for his final season.