James Franklin Flips First Former Penn State Commit to Virginia Tech

Former Penn State coach James Franklin his flipped his first recruiting commit to Virginia Tech. Messiah Mickens, a 4-star running back from Harrisburg, announced Tuesday that he will join Franklin's 2026 Hokies recruiting class.

Mickens became the first player previously committed to Penn State's 2026 class to follow Franklin to Blacksburg. He marked the moment with a new commitment post on X, his first since being fired from Penn State in October.

Welcome to the 'Burg!!#ThisIsHome pic.twitter.com/Lbt8p6X3A5
— James Franklin (@coachjfranklin) November 25, 2025

Mickens is a 4-star prospect, according to the 247Sports Composite, and ranks as the No. 8 player in Pennsylvania. He is the 14th-ranked running back nationally. Mickens had been committed to Penn State's 2026 class since August 2023.

Since committing to Penn State, Mickens received offers from across the country, including this year from Notre Dame (where former Penn State running backs coach Ja'Juan Seider works), and Indiana. Mickens visited Virginia Tech this past weekend and announced his decision two days later.

Let’s do it!🦃 https://t.co/3TtwMMFKRd
— Messiah Mickens (@messiah_mickens) November 25, 2025

Mickens was among multiple former Penn State commits who visited Virginia Tech last weekend. They included former Penn State quarterback commit Troy Huhn, a 4-star prospect from Southern California.

According to 247Sports' Tom Loy, 4-star Pennsylvania safety Matt Sieg will announce his decision Dec. 3, the first day of the early signing period. Sieg still has Penn State among his top 5 with Virginia Tech, Notre Dame, Indiana and Pitt.

Penn State's 2026 recruiting class has currently has 10 players committed, down from 27 at its peak. Fifteen players have decommitted since Franklin was fired. Among those who have committed elsewhere are 4-star offensive lineman Kevin Brown (West Virginia), 4-star receiver Jahsiear Rogers (Oklahoma), 4-star linebacker Elijah Littlejohn (Georgia) and 4-star defensive lineman Alex Haskell (Syracuse).

Frankin's move to Virginia Tech has complicated Penn State's season, regarding staff changes and recruiting. Franklin took multiple staff members, who worked primarily in recruiting, with him to Virginia Tech. And Smith said that he knew Franklin would be recruiting his former commits.

“The immediate threat is to take Penn State players,” Smith said. “With the uncertainty of the next head coach, … the most important thing that we can do is to protect the locker room. When it comes to high school recruits, [Franklin] has an advantage right now because we don't have a permanent head coach.”

Penn State is in Week 6 of its coaching search to replace Franklin, who is in his second week on the job at Virginia Tech. Smith said the program continues to maintain contact with its committed players, who can begin signing their 2026 contracts Dec. 3.

"They're all like on stand-by," Smith said. "They've all been communicating with us. We've done some FaceTimes, some calls. We're just doing the best we can just keeping an open line of communication and staying in touch until we figure out what's next."

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