New Virginia Tech football coach James Franklin held an open spring practice on Thursday for the media. Also in attendance was a recruit in the Class of 2027, defensive lineman Alexander Taylor. The Baltimore native made the trip to Blacksburg just over a month after receiving an offer from the Hokies.
In February, defensive line coach Sean Spencer and assistant Dae'Lun Darien offered Taylor a scholarship. Already with a June visit scheduled to Virginia Tech, he was on campus on Thursday, and before he left, he committed to Virginia Tech.
James Franklin nabs first Class of 2027 commitment at Virginia Tech
The 6-foot-3, 230-pound Taylor plays at St. Frances, a powerhouse program in Maryland. After meeting with Spencer and the coaching staff, according to Brian Dohn of 247Sports, Taylor gave his commitment. He is the first member of the Class of 2027 to commit to the Hokies under Franklin.
It's safe to say that Spencer was big in Taylor's recruitment. Three months ago, he dropped a top 6 of Texas A&M, Maryland, Michigan, Auburn, Tennessee, and Georgia when Spencer was on Mike Elko's staff in College Station. However, after Spencer was hired by Franklin, the Hokies were in the mix, as well as North Carolina State. To get a commitment from Taylor over some SEC and other ACC programs is a big early win in recruiting for Virginia Tech.
According to 247Sports, Taylor is the 86th-ranked defensive lineman by their Composite and the 17th-ranked player in Maryland. He is the second commit the Hokies have from St. Frances as back in December, cornerback Amauri Polydor signed with Virginia Tech.
This is certainly a nice starting point in recruiting for Virginia Tech in the Class of 2027. On Wednesday, another defensive lineman in the same class, Xzaiver Whittington, also from Maryland, de-committed from Boston College one day after picking up an offer from Tech. The James Franklin effect in recruiting in the DMV is already paying off. We'll see what happens with Whittington, but Spencer is likely to be active in recruiting in the next couple of months.