The dead period is about to end in college football, and recruiting in the Class of 2028 is going to pick up. Visits are beginning to be made for recruits this fall for games, and expect the lists at Virginia Tech to be long ones with some big names under James Franklin. You saw how quickly it filled up last November for the Miami game, less than a week after Franklin was officially hired and went right to work.
It is somewhat unusual for a rising junior to commit this early in the recruiting cycle, but that's what four-star quarterback Trace Hawkins from Georgia did. He recently dropped his top schools, and the Hokies were in the group. He made a quick decision on where he's going to play his college football and announced it on Thursday night, picking an ACC rival of Virginia Tech's.
Four-star Class of 2028 QB Trace Hawkins picks Clemson over Virginia Tech and other schools
Hawkins dropped a final list of schools: Clemson, Virginia Tech, LSU, Vanderbilt, Kentucky, and Duke. Hawkins ended up picking Clemson and Dabo Swinney over Franklin and another ACC school and three SEC schools.
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Is this a big recruiting loss? Considering how early in the Class of 2028 it is, it's not something to lose sleep over. Sure, it would have been nice if Hawkins had picked the Hokies or one of the three SEC schools in the mix instead of Clemson or Duke, but something tells us that, given Franklin's recruiting history from this time at Penn State, he'll be just fine by the time this recruiting cycle ends at quarterback.
According to Hayes Fawcett of Rivals, the 6-foot-1 signal caller picked the Tigers over LSU and Vanderbilt. If there is anything to be concerned about with that is it appears that Vanderbilt was higher on his list than Franklin and the Hokies.
Is it devastating that it sounds like it played out that way? Not really, as you have to figure that Franklin and quarterbacks coach Danny O'Brien will end up with their guy when all is said and done. However, given the youth on the Virginia Tech roster and with the commitment Virginia Tech already has in the Class of 2027, there is a promising future under center in Blacksburg.
We'll see how things end up with Penn State transfer Ethan Grunkemeyer, as it is possible he plays two years for the Hokies. North Carolina transfer Bryce Baker is young, and Kelden Ryan returns from last season's roster under Brent Pry's staff. Virginia Tech Class of 2027 four-star commit Peter Bourque is on board after he decommitted from Michigan back in December.
Again, it would have been nice for the Hokies to land a commitment from Hawkins, but it's back to what is expected to be a big drawing board for Franklin and O'Brien.
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