Recruiting is heating up over the next couple of months before the summer hits. For new Virginia Tech football coach James Franklin, things have been booming the last couple of weeks when it comes to the Class of 2027.
Franklin has been getting commitments on both sides of the ball, and on Tuesday, four-star offensive tackle Elijah Hutcheson of Roanoke, Virginia, was set to make his commitment. The Top 100 player according to Rivals was down to Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech, Clemson, and Florida. The sense before he made his commitment was that he was going to head to Gainesville with new coach Jon Sumrall and the Gators.
That ended up being the case, but how Hutcheson went about it, well, it was a troll job on Franklin and Virginia Tech.
4-star OT Class of 2027 recruit Elijah Hutcheson trolls James Franklin and Virginia Tech at his commitment
Hutcheson made his commitment live on the Rivals YouTube channel. When it was time to make his announcement, Hutcheson grabbed a Virginia Tech hat and said he was committing to the Hokies, which drew a stunned response from his mother, before throwing it back and grabbing a Florida hat and committing to the Gators.
4-star Top100 OT Elijah Hutcheson commits to Florida pic.twitter.com/9uYiBMck4F
— David Soderquist (@Hightop_Dave) May 5, 2026
Again, it wasn't surprising that he picked Florida, as that is where all the signs were pointing to. That ended up being the case, but not before a troll job by the 6-foot-6 rising senior. Now, as you would think, Penn State trolls and all Franklin trolls are running with this and enjoying it. As soon as it happened, the obsessive Penn State trolls came out of the woodwork.
What would be really ironic is if Hutcheson eventually ends up at Virginia Tech at some point through the Transfer Portal. That might be a stretch, however, given this day and age of the portal, would it really surprise anyone? Never underestimate the power of Transfer Portal. Franklin could someday end up with the last laugh.
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