Since he was hired at Virginia Tech, James Franklin has hit the ground running in recruiting. He has done so by retaining some of the commits that Virginia Tech got under former coach Brent Pry, as well as flipping recruits from SEC and Big Ten schools.
The biggest damage he has done is completing the flipping of Penn State's Class of 2026. While he was in State College, he put together a really good recruiting class, but when a coach gets fired, things tend to fall apart with the class. Athletic director Pat Kraft has yet to hire Franklin's replacement, and the Class of 2026 is just about gone from Penn State. Where are they? They're going to Blacksburg, and on Wednesday afternoon, Franklin completed another flip.
James Franklin flips another Penn State commit to Virginia Tech
Three-star cornerback Amauri Polydor officially flipped his commitment from Penn State to Virginia Tech. The Baltimore, Maryland native who played at St. Francis Academy, committed to Franklin in June during a visit, but after he was fired and a lot of questions surrounding the future of the Nitany Lions program in terms of a coach, making the flip to Virginia Tech was a no-brainer.
Polydor took a visit to Colorado two weeks ago before Franklin had him on campus this past weekend, and despite the 2025 version of the Hokies in Charlottesville playing Virginia in the Commonwealth Clash, Polydor remained committed to Franklin and enjoyed his visit.
According to 247Sports, Polydor is the 28th-ranked player in Maryland and the 89th-ranked cornerback in his class. As far as 247's composite ranking goes, Polydor is the 14th-ranked player in Maryland and the 46th-ranked player in his class. Wednesday has been one of the best recruiting classes put together by any Virginia Tech staff in a few years, and the future is bright.