When he was at Penn State, new Virginia Tech football coach James Franklin had a ton of success recruiting in the DMV. Virginia Tech is hoping that he can continue that success now that he's in Blacksburg.
Nearly three months on the job, Hokies fans are beginning to see the fruits of Franklin's labor when it comes to recruiting. He went back to his Penn State roots to raid some of the Class of 2026 commits he got and flipped them to Virginia Tech.
One area that Franklin focused on was in the trenches on both sides of the ball. He landed some blue-chip recruits with the Nittany Lions and brought some to Blacksburg. Franklin picked up a commitment in the Class of 2027 at Penn State from Delaware native Layton Von Brandt. However, after Franklin was fired, Von Brandt reopened his recruitment. Now that he's at Virginia Tech, Franklin is once again heavily recruiting Von Brandt and is in the mix for a second commitment from him in less than a year.
Virginia Tech in the mix for talented offensive lineman Layton Von Brandt
Von Brandt has set up some visits in the next couple of months, including one to Virginia Tech in March. The 6-foot-5, 255-pound Von Brandt also has visits set for Florida, Auburn, Tennessee, and Notre Dame.
Look, Franklin has mentioned multiple times since being hired at Virginia Tech, but he must have recruiting success along the offensive and defensive lines. He has two outstanding coaches, Matt Moore on offense and Sean Spencer on defense, who would be beneficial to any recruit, but as much as it is important to get skill position recruits, it's just as important to get recruits for the trenches.
Expect Franklin, Moore, and Virginia Tech to make a serious push for Von Brandt and make him a priority. They are up against some big-time programs, but that hasn't stopped Franklin from having success in the past at Penn State.