One player in the Class of 2026 who knows a lot about Virginia Tech is defensive lineman T-Ron Richardson. During his recruiting process in the spring, the Hokies and former coach Brent Pry were in the mix for the Hopewell, Virginia, native.
Before making his commitment in August, Richardson was close to committing to the Hokies, but Oklahoma swooped in and got his commitment. Virginia Tech was always a place that was going to be in the mix, and if there was a chance for a flip, it would be to the Hokies.
Virginia Tech hired James Franklin two weeks ago, and he hit the ground running in recruiting. Two weekends ago, he hosted a slew of recruits in Blacksburg before hosting more this past weekend while the 2025 team was in Charlottesville, closing out the season. After striking gold two weeks ago and getting a handful of commits, a trip this weekend was good enough for Richardson to flip from Norman to Blacksburg.
James Franklin flips Oklahoma commit T-Ron Richardson to Virginia Tech
After visiting and with signing day on Wednesday, Richardson flipped his commitment from Oklahoma to Virginia Tech. Ole Miss reportedly tried to get into the mix for him, but like Davion Brown, the chance to play in-state was hard to pass up.
Franklin continues to build a huge recruiting class, and he is starting to get the in-state talent to remain in the Commonwealth. Recruiting in Virginia was a big point of emphasis when he was at Penn State, and it's going to only get bigger and better at Virginia Tech. The Hokies' recruiting ranking has skyrocketed over the last week, and with signing day still 24 hours away, there is still time for Franklin to add more flips. James Franklin is cooking early in his Virginia Tech tenure.