Spring practices are beginning to heat up around college football, and Virginia Tech will get going in full this month under first-year coach James Franklin. Also, what is going to pick up is recruits scheduling visits, mainly with the Class of 2027.
When Franklin was at Penn State, he came into the state of Virginia and was able, along with Brent Pry, who was his defensive coordinator, to pluck some of the state's top talent. Now that he's in Blacksburg, he is going to make recruiting in the Commonwealth a priority. One player who is scheduled to visit Virginia Tech again in May is four-star edge Chris Whitehead. He is making other visits, and his first one to South Carolina should have Franklin and his staff concerned.
South Carolina impresses Class of 2027 Virginia recruit
Whitehead is highly sought after in his class and is one of the top recruits in his class. He was impressed with his visit to South Carolina and Shane Beamer. The visit opened Whitehead's eyes with the Gamecocks, and they shot up to near the top of his list. The Chesterfield native will likely be going back to Columbia.
This is going to be a recruitment that Franklin and his staff are going to be tough to win. Whithead is a rising prospect in his class with Virginia, Georgia, Ohio State, LSU, Auburn, North Carolina State, and Miami also showing interest. There will likely be more schools that get involved, but Whitehead is in no rush to make his decision.
Newly-hired Virginia Tech defensive line coach Sean Spencer should be involved with Whitehead's recruitment when he makes his visit in a couple of months. If Whitehead wants to play for a coach and a staff that can produce NFL talent, then the Hokies could be in good shape in terms of being near the top of his list when all is said and done.