Recruiting has been a struggle for Virginia Tech the last couple of seasons under Brent Pry. When he was fired, the Class of 2026 recruiting ranking was near the bottom of FBS schools. Then the school hired James Franklin as the football coach two weeks ago to replace his former defensive coordinator.
As soon as Franklin was hired, recruiting has been booming, and over the last six days, he has been flipping several former Penn State commits, and that continued on Monday when he secured a commitment from an in-state linebacker, Mathieu Lamah.
James Franklin continues flipping Penn State commits to Virginia Tech
Lamah, a four-star according to Rivals, from Nokesville, Va., flipped his commitment in what was a not-so-surprising move. He joins offensive linemen Marlen Bright and Roseby Lubintus, along with running back Messiah Mickens, and on Monday, four-star quarterback Troy Huhn from California also committed to Virginia Tech. Now Franklin snags one of the state's top linebacking recruits.
Lamah had been predicted to flip his commitment recently with some Crystal Ball predictions, and he did so officially on Monday. He'll join Green Run's Kamran Johnson, a defensive edge, in Blacksburg, while there is some question as to what the future holds for Zaevion Cleveland, who is committed to the Hokies, but took a visit recently to West Virginia. He is reportedly deciding between the Hokies and Mountaineers.
Signing day is still two days away, but you can't ignore the recruiting heater that Franklin is currently on just 14 days into his new position at Virginia Tech. When he was at Penn State, he would come in and pluck the talent from Virginia Tech and Virginia, but now that he's a Hokie, winning state in recruiting should be much easier over the Cavaliers and other schools. James Franklin is just beginning to heat up in Blacksburg.