Early signing day is on Wednesday, and James Franklin has been on a heater since taking the job at Virginia Tech in terms of recruiting the last week. Penn State has yet to hire his replacement, and he is making the most of their search.
Franklin has swooped in and plucked several Nittany Lions commits to Blacksburg, and on Tuesday, he secured another flip from Penn State, and it is another offensive lineman, Benjamin Eziuka, a three-star.
James Franklin continues Virginia Tech recruiting heater with another Penn State flip
Back in June, Eziuka committed to Penn State, but after the school fired Franklin and with uncertainty surrounding the future of offensive line coach Phil Trautwein in State College, Eziuka began searching for a new home. He took a trip to Virginia Tech, and just two days after leading Detroit Catholic Central to a state title, he committed to the Hokies. Cincinnati was also in the mix for the 6-foot-3 Eziuka.
Offensive line play has been a weak point for the Hokies the last couple of seasons, and Franklin is making it a position of need for the future, something that Virginia Tech hasn't done in a while. Eziuka is the seventh commit in the trenches along the offensive line in the Class of 2026.
He joins Thomas Wilder, Roseby Lubintus, Marlen Bright, Maddox Cochrane, Adrian Hamilton, and Buddy Wegdam. Wilder de-committed from Virginia Tech, but he pledged his commitment to Franklin on Monday, while Lubintus and Bright are coming after previously committing to Penn State. Cochrane was a Wisconsin commit before coming to Blacksburg.
Franklin made it clear that rebuilding the roster will not only be done through the Transfer Portal, but also through recruiting in high school. He is certainly proving the latter part right and doing so by raiding Penn State's class that he was building before being fired.