The dead period is here for college football programs and official visit season is done for the summer.
James Franklin has Virginia Tech in a position that would have seemed impossible a year ago. The Hokies have put together a fantastic class through the summer, and currently, Virginia Tech has the No. 11 class in the country, which is the second-best class in the ACC.
Yes, you are reading that correctly.
This should not come as a major surprise, though. Franklin was known as a strong recruiter at Penn State, and after being hired at Virginia Tech, he guided the Hokies from a recruiting class that was outside the top 100 to a class that finished in the top 25. Now that he has a full cycle, Franklin is showing what Virginia Tech is capable of under his leadership.
Miami (3rd Nationally)
Virginia Tech (11th)
Clemson (12th)
California (19th)
Georgia Tech (24th)
Pittsburgh (32nd)
Syracuse (36th)
NC State (37th)
Duke (38th)
Louisville (39th)
Wake Forest (41st)
Boston College (43rd)
North Carolina (44th)
Stanford (51st)
Florida State (55th)
Virginia (62nd)
SMU (82nd)
The headliner of this class, of course, is four-star, top-100 quarterback Peter Bourque. Virginia Tech had to beat out Georgia and Penn State to land Bourque, and he has only shown further improvement. Bourque put together a standout performance at this year's Elite 11 competition and made an argument that he should be ranked as a five-star prospect.
Bourque is not the only talented player in this class however.
Four-Star tight end Jordan Karhoff, four-star OT Dylan Latell, four-star OL Kaden Buchannan, four-star DL Joseph Buchannan, and four-star OT Junior Saunders make up the other blue chip recruits that the Hokies have in their class.
This recruiting class shows that Franklin is going to be committed to building this team out the right way. The Hokies already have their quarterback of the future, but they are also builiding out both lines of scrimmage. Four of Virginia Tech's six blue-chip recruits are either on the offensive or defensive line, including eight of Virginia Tech's 25 commitments.
This is just step one for Franklin to get Virginia Tech back to contending for ACC titles and making their first college football playoff appearance. Talent acquisition is the name of the game in college football and when it comes to the ACC, the only team that acquires talent at an elite level in both high school recruiting and in the transfer portal is Miami.
The Hokies have been doing an amazing job on the trail this summer and Franklin has this program trending up in a major way.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/virginiatech as Updated Recruiting Rankings: Virginia Tech Remains Near the Top Heading Into July.
