When James Franklin was hired at Virginia Tech, you got the feeling that he was going to take recruiting to the next level from what fans had been used to. It feels like recruiting went to the back burner a bit under Justin Fuente. Brent Pry tried to change things, and he did a good job, but it was nothing like what Franklin can and is attempting to do.
Shortly after being hired in Blacksburg, Franklin flipped nearly a dozen recruits he had committed to him at Penn State to follow him to Virginia Tech. One of those was four-star quarterback Troy Huhn from California. Now that the Class of 2026 is mostly signed, Franklin and his assistant coach are shifting their focus to the Class of 2027. It appears that Franklin and O'Brien are hitting the ground running in recruiting since he recently joined his former boss at his job.
Virginia Tech offers No. 1 Class of 2027 QB Elijah Haven
Five-star quarterback and the top one in the Class of 2027, Elijah Haven, posted on his X account that he received an offer from Franklin and Virginia Tech. This shouldn't come as a surprise that Franklin is entering the picture, and he'll have his work cut out for him against a handful of SEC schools for Haven.
I would like to thank Coach Franklin for his continued belief in me and pleased to share that I have received an offer from Virginia Tech @HokiesFB pic.twitter.com/QyUKEkaRQZ
— Elijah Haven (@elijahhaven05) December 20, 2025
The 6-foot-5, 215-pound Haven is from Baton Rouge, La. has offers from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and LSU, to name a few. 247Sports has logged a Crystal Ball prediction for Alabama. The Dunham School standout is projected to be a first-round pick if he can put everything together, according to Andrew Ivins of 247Sports.
The 2025 Gatorade Player of the Year in Louisiana, Haven, is going to have several suitors for him and will have his choice of top programs, but Franklin and O'Brien are getting into the mix, and we'll see what happens. The Hokies are making a push for a Michigan QB commit as well.