James Franklin reveals trust level he asked Virginia Tech recruits to give him

Virginia Tech did an excellent job shoring up its recruiting class and adding a few key pieces thanks to new coach James Franklin. The class checked in at No. 25 nationally just one day after the early signing period opened.

Franklin credited the recruits with keeping an open mind as he made the transition over from Penn State. Penn State’s class, it should be noted, has turned into an abject disaster.

“I think for almost all of them we were recruiting at some point over the last two years, whether guys had come to camp, whether guys had been up for junior days or whether guys had just kind of followed what we were doing at other schools,” Franklin said. “So I think that helped.”

James Franklin managed to cobble together a group that featured seven four-star prospects. Three of them ranked within the top 300 recruits nationally.

“I also think the core group of guys that were committed to Virginia Tech were committed to Virginia Tech for the right reasons and felt like this was the right place for them and their family,” Franklin said. “And they were being patient to try to figure out who the head coach was going to be. Then when we combined all those factors it worked out really well.”

Really well indeed. Virginia Tech is now set to move forward with a transition class that is as highly ranked as any class the program has had since 2019.

“This is still a relationship business, and whether that is staff or whether that is recruiting, that plays a big part in this,” James Franklin explained. “When I talk about relationships, I talk about significant relationships with the players, with their high school coaches and their parents.”

Those relationships worked out in James Franklin’s favor at Virginia Tech. Interestingly, though, the coach also brought up another element.

That was NIL support. Though he didn’t accuse Penn State of lacking in that department, he did note the NIL commitment has to be right for Virginia Tech to capitalize on landing players.

“When you’re talking about a different school that’s probably five hours away in a very different conference and those people felt strongly enough about Virginia Tech, our staff, me, the potential of this place, and then the resources,” James Franklin said. “Because relationships are important, but I’ve had relationships with kids that I feel like our relationship was better than any other place in the country, but if the NIL package is too wide this isn’t the old days of 85 scholarships where it just comes down to the relationships and what you’ve been able to produce on the field.

“So you’ve got to have the resources. That’s the reality of today’s college football. A lot of things have gone into it, but again I’m very pleased with the class overall, especially when you consider the circumstances. I don’t know if this has really happened before.”