Spring practices are underway for the Virginia Tech football team. There is a lot of anticipation for the 2026 season, the first one under James Franklin. As spring practices begin ramping up, so is recruiting around college football.
Franklin and Virginia Tech had several recruits locking in visits in the coming month, with the biggest rush of recruits flocking to Blacksburg coming in June, which is a vital month. One player who was scheduled to visit earlier this year was defensive lineman Xzaiver Whittington from Maryland. However, his visit was postponed due to a snowstorm earlier this year.
Whittington, a three-star according to 247Sports, has already committed to Bill O'Brien and Boston College. However, on Wednesday, he decommitted from the Eagles, and that just happened to be one day after receiving an offer from Virginia Tech. That is certainly surprising.
After A great talk with @coachjfranklin I am blessed to received my 6th d1 offer too Virginia tech university #AGTG @kaleb_gsx @DeenEaglesFB pic.twitter.com/EwIwPhe8Gf
— Xzaiver “X” Whittington (@Xzaiverw29) March 17, 2026
Virginia Tech looking to flip Boston College Class of 2027 de-commit
Normally, this wouldn't open many eyes, but you have to consider connecting to Boston College with a recently hired Virginia Tech staff member. Franklin hired Kemari Morales, who was an assistant at BC under O'Brien, and it's hard to ignore the signs that are going off.
Now, there might not be a connection at all and this just might be a coincidence. Or it might not. Whittington is scheduled to make a visit to Virginia Tech in May, with Georgia Tech, Temple, Liberty, New Hampshire, and James Madison also in the mix. Along with Morales, Sean Spencer will likely play a big part in Whittington's recruitment.
The Aberdeen product is 6-foot-2 and 325 pounds. Last fall, he registered 32 tackles, 22 for a loss and nine sacks. It feels like he is someone who would fit well in Spencer's unit and Brent Pry's defense down the line. Again, we'll see if there is any connection with Whittington's decommitment from BC or not after picking up an offer from the Hokies. If he does commit and it is because of Morales, what a masterclass in recruiting by Franklin.