James Franklin's plans for Virginia Tech football recruiting should have fans pumped

If the past few weeks are any indication of what James Franklin can do on the recruiting trail, the future looks incredibly bright for Virginia Tech football.

A month ago, Virginia Tech had a recruiting class ranked in the 100s and now the Hokies are going to finish with a top-25 haul led by blue-chip linebacker Terry Wiggins, who officially flipped from Penn State in a live announcement this afternoon.

Recruits place trust in Franklin

Wiggins was one of several prospects that followed Franklin from Penn State over the past few weeks and continue to do so as the first day of the early signing period winds down.

Franklin has not hired a single on-field coach from the Nittany Lions staff, but he did take many of the staffers that had previously handled the recruiting operations at Penn State. It was a smart move that helped him get many of the prospects that he had relationships with on campus to see Virginia Tech. 

Although the players were comfortable with seeing what Virginia Tech was all about, it was their trust in Franklin that would win them over. He outlined that process in an interview on CBS HQ Signing Day Special broadcast. 

"We had 17 kids last weekend on official visits," Franklin said. "I'm the only hired coach in the building. I've got a tight end, Pierce Petersohn, asking me what does the tight end room look like? I said I have no idea. He said, 'Who's my tight end coach going to be?' I said I have no idea. He said, 'Who's the offensive coordinator going to be?', I said, you've got to trust me."

A full focus on in-state recruiting

And now Franklin is ready to go all-in on recruiting in the state and surrounding areas. That includes Maryland, Washington D.C., and parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio and the Carolinas. It's a footprint that he's ready to fully embrace. 

"We're going to take a ton of pride in the state of Virginia, and the surrounding footprint," Franklin added.  Obviously, everybody wants to recruit nationally. We will do that as well, but if you don't take care of your home first...it's hard to go out any further."

But for now, Franklin said he's going to get some rest, and it's well deserved. He's been running pretty hard for the past three weeks, and Hokies fans hope it's just a small sign of things to come.

"Usually these classes take two years to put together and a ton of resources and a ton of manpower, and we didn't have that," Franklin concluded. "So, I'm very proud of what we're able to do. I think this is a really good foundation to start from."