When it comes to roster turnover from year to year, nobody is good at it like James Franklin. He always had a roster that landed some of the top recruits from the incoming class at Penn State, as well as getting some of the top talent out of the Transfer Portal.
After Franklin was hired at Virginia Tech in November, he went right to work on evaluating the roster from the 2025 club and planning for 2026. There were some players that he needed to get some retention from, and that he did. However, you knew as soon as the Transfer Portal opened, he would be hitting it and hitting it hard to add to it for the 2026 season.
That's exactly what he did, and he landed some impactful players. As expected, there was an exodus out of State College following their Pinstripe Bowl win over Clemson, and some of those players followed Franklin to Blacksburg. Some of those players are getting all the hype, but Bill Connelly of ESPN has another player who is one of his favorite transfers this offseason.
Virginia Tech transfer CB Jaquez White getting some preseason love from ESPN
Sure, it's easy to say that former Penn State quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer or tight end Luke Reynolds are the big-name transfers to come to Blacksburg. There are other options, including Duke transfer wide receiver Que'Sean Brown. Other players could be mentioned, but Connelly thinks Troy cornerback Jaquez White might be one of the bigger additions this recruiting cycle by Franklin.
Secondary help is something that the Hokies had a big need for this portal cycle. Franklin landed one of the more underrated players available in the Transfer Portal in 6-foot-1 Georgia native Jazquez White from Troy.
In 14 games for the Trojans last season, he registered 67 tackles, 53 solo, with one sack. He had a season-high eight tackles in a season-opening win over Nichols and three a week later in a 27-16 loss at Clemson. Virginia Tech will make a trip to play Dabo Swinney and the Tigers in late October this upcoming season.
"While Franklin brought a lot of former Penn State players and commits with him from State College, a Troy transfer might have the biggest early impact. White picked off three passes, broke up 12 more and even made 3.5 TFLs as a do-everything cover man last season,'' wrote Connelly.
In the Sun Belt Championship Game against James Madison in a 31-14 loss, he had four tackles and an interception before he had two tackles in the IS4S Salute To Veterans Bowl loss to Jacksonville State, 17-13.
Things got scary for White, Franklin, Virginia Tech, and Hokies' fans after White went down in the Virginia Tech spring game back in April with an injury, but he later posted on his X account that he was going to be OK. Franklin and former Virginia Tech head coach and new defensive coordinator Brent Pry need White in the secondary in 2026.
There are going to be several new players that fans are going to want to watch in 2026, and White should be right at the top of that list.
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