What a week to be a Virginia Tech fan. After weeks of speculation, it became official on Monday: James Franklin was Virginia Tech’s new football coach. Not only did the Hokies land their top target, they’re giving him every resource possible to compete with not only the ACC’s top teams, but some of the best teams in the country.
While Franklin hasn’t officially hired his coaching staff, he knows who he will have. It’s hard to name a new staff when they are all coaching elsewhere. That will change soon, though. Franklin, however, didn’t wait to start his new job. He was officially announced on Monday, and that afternoon, he was on the phone with recruits, lining up visits for Saturday’s game against the Miami Hurricanes. When Franklin spoke at his press conference and during halftime of Wednesday’s men’s basketball game, he urged fans to pack Lane Stadium. He wanted to put on a show for the players he hopes will choose Virginia Tech.
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Since Franklin was fired from Penn State last month, the Nittany Lions have lost most of their class — a testament to how much players love and respect Franklin. He hopes most of them will follow him to Blacksburg. Here are some of the names expected in Blacksburg this weekend:
4-star S Matt Sieg: Penn State commit
3-star OL Roseby Lubintus: Former Penn State and Syracuse commit
4-star OL Thomas Wilder: Former Virginia Tech commit
4-star QB Troy Huhn: Former Penn State commit
4-star TE Pierce Petersohn: Penn State commit
3-star OL Benjamin Eziuka: Penn State commit
4-star OL Marlen Bright: Penn State commit
4-star EDGE Tyson Harley: Penn State commit
There are others who will be in town, but these are just some of the names. You should expect Franklin to land some players this weekend. While some of the players on visits are familiar with Blacksburg, such as Wilder and Harley, others will be seeing Virginia Tech for the first time. Sieg and Huhn are among those who’ll see Blacksburg for the first time.
How many of these players will commit to Virginia Tech? We are about to see Franklin close on top targets, something Hokie fans have long wanted to see from their head coach.
While there is a game this weekend, all eyes will be on Franklin and Virginia Tech recruiting. Thanks to Franklin, recruiting has become fun again.
