Early on the Class of 2027 recruiting cycle, new Virignia Tech football coach James Franklin and his staff have been focusing on the defensive line. They already have a pair of commitments there for new coach Sean Spencer.
Another new position coach in Blacksburg for Franklin is running backs coach Norval McKenzie, who is replacing Elijah Brooks. This season, McKenzie has a young running back room with Marcellous Hawkins being the older player in the room. Jeffrey Overton, Jr. is back, along with some transfers and incoming freshman Messiah Mickens.
Looking ahead, there is going to be a need for that room, and one Class of 2027 recruit is quickly becoming a priority for Virginia Tech, and he has ties to the Hokies program, which the staff hopes will help recruit him to Blacksburg.
Virginia Tech football gets Crystal Ball prediction for Class of 2027 running back
Tai Phillips, a three-star running back from Columbia, South Carolina, is seeing his recruiting pick up, and the Hokies appear to be making him a priority. Kolby Crawford of VTScoop and 247Sports logged a Crystal Ball prediction for Phillips to commit to Virginia Tech.
The 5-foot-11, 180-pound back is transferring to Irmo High School for the 2026 season. Phillips spent the last two seasons at Fayetteville (N.C.) Cape Fear High School. As a sophomore, he rushed for 880 yards and 11 touchdowns in 12 games, before racking up 919 yards as a junior with 12 touchdowns in seven games.
A star in track and field as well as the football field, this is the first recruiting cycle for Franklin at Virginia Tech. After focusing on defense early on, Phillips is quickly becoming a big priority for the Hokies. He has an official visit scheduled for May 29 to Blacksburg, but first, he'll take a visit to North Carolina State on May 1. We'll see where this ends up going.