It has been said for a while that since James Franklin was hired at Virginia Tech, watch how quickly recruiting takes off in Blacksburg. If there were any questions as to whether it would begin to soar, all fans had to do was look at his recruiting history at Penn State.
As obsessive as Nittany Lions fans are about Franklin and are still roasting over eight months after he was fired, even they have to admit his recruiting success was one of his strengths. However, after flipping a dozen commits from Penn State in the Class of 2026 after he was hired at Virginia Tech, all eyes were going to be on the Class of 2027, Franklin's first true test as the Hokies' new head coach.
So far, so good.
James Franklin is vaulting Virginia Tech with the elite in terms of recruiting success in the Class of 2027
It has been widely pointed out that Franklin has had success in recruiting in his first full class at Virginia Tech. However, the Hokies are No. 14 at ESPN, and they continue to join elite company. Just how good has it been? They are behind just Miami, No. 7, and Clemson, No. 13, in terms of ACC teams in the rankings. Not too shabby.
"James Franklin quickly revitalized the Hokies' 2026 class once taking over the program and now has a full year to build the 2027 group. He's moving forward building a future around high-upside athletes with strong developmental potential across key positions,'' wrote ESPN's Craig Haubert.
Sure, Virginia Tech has dropped one spot in the rankings after being No. 13 in the previous rankings, but Haubert isn't wrong about the talent that Franklin and his staff are bringing in. They have five SC ESPN300 commits in the class. Their biggest offensive addition, according to ESPN, is quarterback Peter Bourque, and their biggest addition on defense is linebacker Amarri Irvin. What do both have in common?
Well, both were committed elsewhere before flipping their commitments to Virginia Tech. Franklin and the Hokies got in the mix for Bourque, who hails from Massachusetts and is a four-star, after Michigan fired Sherrone Moore. As for Irvin, he was flipped from Notre Dame to Blacksburg by Franklin, and Brent Pry, the Hokies' new defensive coordinator, was able to get him to leave South Bend.
The results are not going to be seen for some time, but recruiting like this is something that fans haven't seen in some time in Blacksburg and have been waiting for. That time is here.
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