When James Franklin was hired as a football coach at Virginia Tech in November, recruiting was in a tough spot, as expected after Brent Pry was fired after a Week 3 loss in September. Some players de-committed, but others stuck it out. However, Franklin knew what he had to do as soon as he was hired.
After he signed his contract, Franklin hit the recruiting trail. He went back to his Penn State routes, and the flipping began. Franklin inherited a class that was near the bottom of FBS schools. He quickly went to work, and when he was done, he finished the Class of 2026 cycle with the 21st-ranked class according to Craig Haubert of ESPN.
Virginia Tech's Class of 2026 recruiting ranking confirms what Virginia Tech was hoping for about James Franklin
The problem for Franklin when he began recruiting was that he didn't have a lot of answers for the players he was recruiting and who he was hoping to flip. He couldn't tell them who their position coaches might be or even who might be coming to Blacksburg.
Despite all of that, Franklin was able to pull off a recruiting masterclass where he flipped several Nittany Lions recruits to Virginia Tech. He got running back Messiah Mickens, quarterback Troy Huhn and tight end Pierce Petershon, just to name a few.
"The No. 13 running back in the class, Mickens, had been committed to Penn State for more than two years, but decommitted after the school fired Franklin. He runs with an appealing combination of power and vision. Brown possesses excellent speed, having been recorded hitting over 21 mph in game play, and can also do a good job of high-pointing the football to win contested matchups. The 6-foot-4 Petersohn projects best to tight end in Franklin's system, where he can use his length and ball skills, and once he gets going, he has enough speed to beat defenders in the second level,'' wrote Haubert.
Those are scouting reports Virginia Tech fans have been missing when it comes to high school recruiting. Yes, the fast recruiting ranking was at the expense of Penn State, but it is just a hint at what Franklin can and will do at Virginia Tech when it comes to recruiting.