If James Franklin is tired, nobody could blame him. Since being hired a Virginia Tech a couple of weeks ago, he has hit the ground running in recruiting. All that hard work paid off on Wednesday when he signed his Class of 2026 on Early Signing Day.
When the dust settled Wednesday afternoon, Franklin got 16 flips, 11 from his former stop at Penn State. All of this was done over eight days and two recruiting weekends later. Virginia Tech's recruiting ranking in the class, according to 247Sports, went from 124th composite ranking to No. 22 in just 16 days.
What Franklin did was remarkable, and it didn't go unnoticed by college football analysts. Bradnon Marcello of CBS Sports spoke to Franklin, and this is what he had to say.
“People are saying, 'Oh, well, Franklin's flipping all these (Penn State) recruits.’ Well, it's the kids that I know and have relationships with,” said Franklin.
James Franklin makes waves just over two weeks on the job at Virginia Tech
The current ranking at 247Sports, which could still change, is the highest ranking for a Hokies recruiting class since 2013, which was 21st. That is quite a feat for the program, and it has been a long time coming.
A class like this was badly needed for Virginia Tech. They didn't come close under Justin Fuente and Brent Pry, but times are changing under James Franklin. He has always been a good recruiter, and while he's in Blacksburg, they should at least have a Top 25 recruiting class each year. It'll be only a matter of time before they are a Top 15 recruiting class.
That's two firsts in over a decade for the Virginia Tech football program that Franklin has accomplished since he's been on the job. He hasn't even kicked the tires on the Transfer Portal yet. That work will be done beginning in January.