When James Franklin was fired at Penn State in October, it didn't take long for the Virginia Tech search committee, put together shortly after Brent Pry was fired in September, to target him and get a deal done in November for him to be the next head coach of the Hokies. It was a home run hire in Blacksburg.
As soon as Franklin landed at Virginia Tech (Penn State fans had to wait a very long time to hire their next head coach, Matt Campbell from Iowa State), they have been trolling their former coach, and it's gone to unhealthy levels.
Every single move made is closely watched and commented on, as well as all the recruiting wins and losses he has had. When Penn State and Campbell get a commitment from a recruit over the Hokies, Nittany Lions fans love stuffing Franklin into a locker. Well, recently, the times have changed. On Sunday alone, Franklin and the Hokies picked up three commitments from four-star Class og 2027 recruits. It was all quiet on the State College front.
On Tuesday, the tables turned on Penn State when the Nittany Lions lost a commitment from a four-star Class of 2027 cornerback to........... Virginia?
Penn State loses 4-star Class of 2027 recruit to Virginia
Oh, my. Talk about some unforeseen circumstances. It was reported by Hayes Fawcett of Rivals on Tuesday morning that four-star cornerback Semajay Robinson flipped his commitment from Penn State to Virginia. Yes, that's right, Penn State lost a four-star commit who flipped to Virginia. Not Virginia Tech, but Virginia. Tony Elliott and Virginia flipped a Penn State recruit.
Did James Franklin ever lose a four-star commit when he was at Penn State to Virginia? Doubt it. However, times are changing when it comes to recruiting, and until a signature is produced on the dotted line, well, anything is possible with NIL.
Money talks nowadays. Who would have imagined there would be a day when Virginia and Virginia Tech fans would see eye-to-eye on a recruiting win? Who thought that both fanbases would come together to get a laugh like this?
I'm sure it'll be all quiet on the Penn State front, but at some point, you just know that Nittany Lions fans are going to blame it on Franklin. Somehow, someway, Franklin is going to be blamed for this in an unhealthy way. Anyway, as Penn State generally does when something like this happens, "Nothing to see here.'' However, if the roles were reversed and Franklin lost a four-star commit to Virginia, well, Penn State fans would obsess for months. This wouldn't have happened with Franklin still at Penn State.
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