Late Monday afternoon, what had been rumored for weeks became reality for Virginia Tech fans when former Penn State coach James Franklin was officially announced as the school's next football coach.
This is a massive hire for the program and its future. Fans have been begging for a coaching hire that moves the needle, and this hire certainly moves the needle. The biggest free agent college football coach on the market picked Blacksburg over SEC schools and other Big Ten openings.
Franklin is going to be introduced as the next head coach on Wednesday at 10 a.m. inside Cassell Coliseum, but the former Nittany Lions boss already has his feet on the ground and is working at Virginia Tech.
James Franklin offers former Penn State and Syracuse OL three-star
If there is one area that Franklin is going to make an immediate impact with, it's recruiting. He was coming into the DMV and smoking not only Virginia Tech, but also Maryland and Virginia, and plucking some of the top talent in the area. Heck, former Hokies' head coach Brent Pry, who Franklin is replacing, came into the area and plucked talent when he was Franklin's defensive coordinator at Penn State.
Late Monday night, a former Penn State commit, three-star offensive lineman Roseby Lubintus, announced on his X account that Franklin reached out to him, offered him a scholarship. He'll also be making the trip to Blacksburg for this weekend's game against Miami.
Lubintus originally committed to Franklin at Penn State back in April, but in early July, he flipped his commitment to Syracuse and Fran Brown. In October, he de-committed from the Orange and reopened his recruitment.
Currently, Virginia Tech has the 119th-ranked recruiting class, according to 247Sports, in the Class of 2026, but expect that ranking to soar over the next couple of weeks with Franklin on board. It would not be surprising to see some Penn State commits flip to Virginia Tech and follow Franklin. The recruiting chaos is just beginning.