New Virginia Tech football coach James Franklin is going to change a lot of things with the Hokies program, and he already has since he was officially hired in March. He hit the ground running in recruiting in November and flipped several recruits to Blacksburg.
Now, in his first spring in charge and in the middle of spring practices, Virginia Tech fans are going to get an up-close and personal look at how Franklin operates when it comes to recruiting. Prior staff would struggle in recruiting when it came to recruiting and going up against Big Ten or SEC schools. Franklin is likely going to change that in the coming years.
On Monday, after a visit by three-star athlete Tristin Hughes, the Hokies received Crystal Ball predictions to land the Ohio native.
Virginia Tech receives Crystal Ball prediction for Class of 2027 athlete Tristin Hughes
Kolby Crawford and Evan Watkins of VTScoop both logged a Crystal Ball prediction for the Hokies to land a commitment from Hughes. The Rocky River, Ohio native also got a prediction from Rivals to commit to Virginia Tech. According to Rivals, Hughes is a four-star.
According to Allen Trieu of Rivals, Hughes recently took a visit to Blacksburg, which was a previous switch from a planned trip to Michigan. Purdue and Kentucky are also in the mix for Hughes, who has a commitment date of Thursday.
Going into Ohiop and plucking Hughes would be a big win for Virginia Tech safeties coach Anthony Midget and Franklin. The 5-foot-11,190-pound Hughes can play corner and nickel, but his calling card in college is at safety. The Hokies already have one Class of 2027 commitment from defensive lineman Alexander Taylor.
Recruiting is a strong point for Franklin, and Virginia Tech fans are going to see a change in recruiting philosophy under the new staff. We should find out in a few days how this one ends up going.