Before the ink dried on James Franklin's contract to become the next Virginia Tech football coach, he hit the ground running with recruiting. He needed to, as it was just a couple of weeks before the Early Signing Day, and he needed to put together a Class of 2027.
To begin piecing a class together, Franklin returned to his old roots at Penn State to pluck several recruits. Penn State made it easy for Franklin to do so as athletic director Pat Kraft took his time in finding Franklin's replacement in State College. That allowed Franklin to come in and grab a number of the commits he got there and flip them.
There was one interesting Penn State commit that Franklin was able to flip, and that was quarterback Troy Huhn. He committed to the Hokies the first week of December, and he could make a big impact in 2026 in Blacksburg.
ESPN listed Troy Huhn as an impact player in the Class of 2026 for Virginia Tech next season
Craig Hubert, Eli Lederman, and Tom Luginbill of ESPN listed an impactful freshman on each Power 4 conference team, and their choice for the Hokies is Huhn, who will be joining a room with a lot of questions.
"Unless the Hokies come up with an option in the transfer portal, the QB competition will be wide open in Blacksburg. Troy Huhn was James Franklin's top target at Penn State and he flipped him late to Virginia Tech. Huhn is a tall, strong-armed pocket passer with live feet and is very competitive. He has the temperament to be ready when he steps on campus,'' wrote ESPN.
Huhn will certainly get a chance in a QB room that right now is just him, and true freshmen AJ Brand and Kelden Ryan. Kyron Drones is out of eligibility, while Garret Rangel and Pop Watson are entering the Transfer Portal. Expect Franklin and quarterbacks coach Danny O'Brien to be very active in the portal and landing a couple of signal callers. Regardless, expect Huhn to have a say in the battle ahead of the 2026 campaign.