When Virginia Tech hired James Franklin as their next football coach, he quickly went to work assembling his staff in Blacksburg. In December, he hired Texas A&M defensive line coach Sean Spencer to the same position with the Hokies.
J.C. Price was not retained by Franklin and has since landed on his feet at East Tennessee State University as their new DC. He tried to stay in Blacksburg, but Franklin ended up hiring Spencer away from Mike Elko.
Price had some success in recruiting, and when he was at Virginia Tech, he recruited three-star edge Xavier Perkins. Despite the coaching changes at Tech, Perkins is still reportedly high on the Hokies. Things seem to be trending in the right direction, and a Crystal Ball prediction was logged for Virginia Tech to get a commitment from Perkins.
Virginia Tech gets a Crystal Ball prediction to land Class of 2027 edge Xavier Perkins
Kolby Crawford of VTScoop logged a Crystal Ball prediction for the Hokies to land Perkins, a Durham, North Carolina native. The 6-foot-2, 240-pounder registered 24 tackles as a junior, including nine for a loss and six sacks last fall in eight games. One year earlier, as a sophomore, he recorded 46 tackles, 13 for a loss and six sacks in 10 games.
Things are going to heat up in Perkins' recruitment as Miami, Louisville, and Duke are also in the mix. Perkins has a visit schedule for this cycle, but despite that, there is no timetable for a decision, something that could come at anytime.
So far, Virginia Tech and Spencer have a commitment from Alexander Taylor as part of Franklin's first two Virginia Tech commitments. Also committed is defensive lineman Brock Frisby. Recruiting in the trenches is something that Franklin knows goes a long way in terms of building for the future, and they are making it a priority early on in this cycle.