It was another big weekend in Blacksburg for first-year Virginia Tech football coach James Franklin in terms of recruits on campus. It has been said before and will continue to be said, the former Vanderbilt and Penn State coach had been on a recruiting heater. That didn't slow down on Sunday.
Early Sunday afternoon, Franklin picked up a pair of commitments from four-star Class of 2027 players, cornerback Bryce Woods and wide receiver Cam Ward. Those two commitments moved the Hokies Past Penn State to No. 7 in the latest 247Sports recruiting rankings. Just when you thought that Franklin might be done on Sunday night, he picked up another commitment, this time on the offensive side of the ball.
Virginia Tech lands a third 4-star commitment with OL Junior Saunders
One coach who has a holdover from the former head coach, and now current defensive coordinator, Brent Pry's staff was offensive line coach Matt Moore. He was retained by Franklin after coming over to Virginia Tech from West Virginia during the last offseason. One of the better offensive line coaches in the country, not only was he retained by Franklin, but he is beginning to cook in recruiting.
Moore and Franklin picked up a commitment from four-star offensive lineman Junior Saunders, someone who has been on their radar for some time. It was clear that they were making him a priority. They did, and he committed on Sunday night.
1000% committed let’s go Hokies 🦃🦃🦃 pic.twitter.com/5OKkMJvbCS
— Jr Saunders (@JrSaunders8) June 7, 2026
Saunders picked the Hokies over Virginia and North Carolina State, where he took official visits. He also has visits lined up for Tennessee and South Carolina. He held nearly two dozen offers, and it remains to be seen if he'll continue to take those final two visits.
The Woodberry Forest native is the latest in-state commitment secured by Virginia Tech, and Franklin continues to recuit at an elite level since arriving in Blacksburg. Saunders is the sixth-ranked player in the Commonwealth according to 247Sports and the 32nd-ranked offensive tackle in the class. The industry-generated 247Sports Composite ranking system lists Saunders as the 341st-ranked player in his class.
He joins Dylan Latell, Luke Braham, and Kaden Buchanan as committed to Virginia Tech in the trenches along the offensive line in the Class of 2027 for Moore and Franklin.
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