With National Signing Day on the horizon, college football programs have been keeping close tabs on James Franklin. Cue Penn State. The Virginia Tech Hokies’ head coach went berserk on the recruiting deadline run and snagged a ton of players who were already committed to his old team. And guess what?He’s not apologizing for it.
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“I want to make sure that this is interpreted right: by no means were we out looking to take commits from any specific school.” James Franklin said. “It really just came down to the kids that we’ve had relationships with, that we’ve known for multiple years. That’s really what that was about.”
Naturally, at his big press conference, reporters grilled him about how all these players suddenly decided to become Hokies. Franklin played it cool and explained that they weren’t, like, actively trying to poach guys from Penn State or anywhere else. Franklin has always been big on building relationships, even offering scholarships to players’ younger brothers years ago, so he leaned into that idea.
In his National Signing Day press conference, James Franklin explained that Virginia Tech was not aiming to flip commitments from Penn State, or any other program:
“I want to make sure that this is interpreted right: by no means were we out looking to take commits from any… pic.twitter.com/5viSnUzZbP
— Basic Blues Nation (@BasicBlues) December 4, 2025
He was essentially trying to say, ‘Hey, these are just kids I know, and they trust me, so they followed.’ Fair enough. However, many saw it as a subtle dig or at least a convenient justification for gutting his former team’s class.
But man, the results are hard to ignore. Virginia Tech ended up signing around 11 players who were previously all set to go to Penn State. This group included some serious talent like four-star linebacker Terry Wiggins, four-star running back Messiah Mickens, and quarterback Troy Huhn. Plus, he flipped some of the recruits from Kentucky and Wisconsin.
That haul completely changed the game for the Hokies, vaulting their 2026 recruiting class ranking from way down at 124th nationally all the way up to an 25th place with a total of 23 commits. That’s one big jump.
The drama not only limited to the press conference, either. The Virginia Tech staff was reportedly serving Crumbl Cookies at their signing day event, which many people online took as a little jab at Penn State. Earlier this week, Penn State missed out on hiring BYU coach Kalani Sitake, partly because the CEO of Crumbl Cookies stepped in to help BYU keep him. Good sport from the Hokies.
So, while Franklin maintained his professional stance, his staff seemed to have a little fun with the situation. However, the head honcho made sure everyone knows what’s coming for Vi