One thing that James Franklin hopes to do well at Virginia Tech that he did at Penn State is to continue to recruit at a high level. At Penn State, he did that and brought in some highly rated recruits. He had a ton of success in the DMV and Northeast, which makes him a perfect fit for Virginia Tech.
He hit the ground running in Blacksburg in recruiting before the ink dried after he signed his deal. He flipped 11 Nittany Lions recruits to Virginia Tech in the Class of 2026 while retaining some of the commitments that Brent Pry got. His focus is now shifting to the Class of 2027, and ESPN sent an early message about recruiting against other powerhouse programs.
ESPN sends James Franklin a message on recruiting against other programs at Virginia Tech
On Tuesday night, four-star University of Michigan quarterback Peter Bourque de-committed from the Wolverines and reopened his recruitment after thinking things over following a coaching change in Ann Arbor. The Massachusetts native will hear from a number of schools. Virginia Tech and Franklin are in the mix, as they were when he was at Penn State before he committed to the Wolverines. Eli Lederman of ESPN thinks that if Franklin can flex his muscle in recruiting Bourque and get a commitment, then it could set an early tone in Blacksburg.
"How the Hokies fare against the likes of Penn State, Georgia, North Carolina, and Washington in the pursuit of recent Michigan quarterback decommit Peter Bourque (No. 123 overall) could provide an instructive early window,'' wrote Lederman.
Having been in the mix before for Bourque will certainly help Franklin and quarterback coach Danny O'Brien. There are several good programs that are going to be in the mix. Regardless of whether the Hokies can get a commitment from Bourque, you can bet that Virginia Tech will be in the mix for some other recruits. It's just beginning in Blacksburg.