Virginia Tech’s recruiting surge has turned the Hokies into a legitimate top-20 team on the trail, and the Class of 2027 still has room to climb.
At the moment, 247Sports has Tech sitting at No. 13, while On3 places the Hokies at No. 19. That split reflects two different ways of grading classes - On3 leans more heavily on player average, while 247Sports balances that against overall volume - but the broader picture is the same: Virginia Tech is recruiting at a level that would have looked far less likely not long ago.
That shift has been especially striking given where the Hokies were during the Class of 2026 cycle. In the period when the program had moved on from Brent Pry but had not yet hired James Franklin, Virginia Tech was outside the top 120 on 247Sports. Once Franklin was in place, the class came together quickly and finished at No. 33 on the site.
Wide receivers coach Fontel Mines pointed to the change in momentum during Tech’s June 16 media availability.
"There's probably a couple kids returning calls that probably hadn't returned calls in the past," Mines joked.
Mines also credited the overall presentation around the program for helping sell recruits on Virginia Tech.
"I think everybody in this building is doing a heck of a job of just making sure everything is top notch from from the top floor to the bottom floor," Mines said. "It's an easy sell. [Franklin's] a proven head coach, he's done it at a high level, he's turned programs around."
Virginia Tech’s ranking did slip from No. 7 on 247Sports in mid-June to its current No. 13, but that drop was expected with schools such as Clemson and Penn State still in the mix. The Hokies are No. 19 in the 247Sports Composite.
The class has already produced real quality. Tech lost out on five-star edge rusher Chris Whitehead, who committed to LSU, but the Hokies have still landed six 247Sports four-star commitments. That number rises to 13 when looking at the 247Sports Composite, and Tech’s No. 19 composite ranking sits two spots behind Georgia and one behind LSU.
Mines said the program’s approach is showing up in every corner of the building.
"It's not just on the field; it's how the building should look, it's how your office should look, it's how you present to parents," Mines said. "Everything is first class, and everything is big time, and that's how we're going to operate, that's how we're going to move."
Safeties coach Anthony Midget echoed that confidence, saying Virginia Tech is not backing away from any of the country’s biggest brands.
"We get [recruits] on campus and we know we've got a chance to compete against anybody," said safeties coach Anthony Midget. "SEC, you name the top schools in the country, that's the expectation, that's the standard. It's not like we're shying away from anybody."
Virginia Tech will turn back to the field for its 2026 season opener against VMI on Saturday, Sept. 5, at 7:30 p.m. ET on ACC Network. It will be the first meeting between the schools since 1984, and the Hokies have won the last three games by a combined 86 points.
In Other News...
Virginia Tech Just Got The Preseason ACC Respect Hokies Wanted
Virginia Techs offseason keeps stacking up in the way Hokies fans were hoping for, with eight players earning spots on Athlon Sports Preseason All-ACC teams and several others drawing notice on Phil Steeles list as well. It is the kind of broad conference recognition that reflects both the talent on hand and the balance across the roster, from playmakers to linemen to special teams. For a program trying to turn preseason respect into something more tangible, it is a meaningful checkpoint before camp really takes over.
The bigger question now is how much of that preseason acclaim carries into September, when Virginia Tech opens the 2026 season on Sept. 5 against VMI. The matchup brings an added layer of intrigue because it will be the first meeting between the schools since 1984, giving the Hokies an early chance to back up all this individual praise in a game that should still tell us something about where the roster really stands. [Read more 🡒]