Penn State and Virginia Tech Start a New Rivalry Through Recruiting

Penn State has never played Virginia Tech, and probably won't unless both make the College Football Playoff, but a rivalry was born in December, when James Franklin became the Hokies' head coach. Franklin retains a chip on his shoulder about the way he was fired from Penn State and has channeled that into a busy offseason with the Hokies.

In early June, Franklin could claim a small victory, when the Hokies passed Penn State in the 2027 national recruiting rankings. With commitments from three 4-star prospects in one weekend, Virginia Tech moved up to No. 6 in the 247SPorts Composite national team rankings. At the time, that was two spots ahead of Penn State, which then was ranked eighth.

Oregon and UCLA since have passed Penn State, which now ranks 10th overall and third in the Big Ten. So Franklin currently has the edge in a Penn State-Virginia Tech duel that will continue through the December signing period.

The Penn State and Virginia Tech recruiting classes appear similar from a rankings perspective. Virginia Tech has 22 players committed, while Penn State has 21 following defensive back Semajay Robinson's flip to Virginia. Each program has six 4-star prospects.

Virginia Tech's highest-ranked player in the 247Sports Composite is quarterback Peter Bourque, who ranks 80th nationally. Penn State's is Philadelphia defensive lineman Stanley Montgomery, who ranks 65th nationally.

Penn State also recruited Bourque heavily before shifting its focus to fellow Massachusetts quarterback Will Wood, who committed to the Nittany Lions soon after Bourque chose to Virginia Tech. Recently, Penn State received a commitment from 3-star safety Caleb Cooper, whom the Hokies also recruited.

Penn State Nittany Lions coach Matt Campbell looks on from the field during the Blue-White spring practice. — Penn State Nittany Lions coach Matt Campbell looks on from the field during the Blue-White spring practice at Beaver Stadium. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

The competition with Penn State appears a bit personal for Franklin, who said recently that he deserved more "grace" from the program during his final season. In an interview with Adam Breneman, Franklin said he felt "blindsided" by the decision to fire him six games into the 2025 season.

"When you give yourself to a place for 12 years and you turn down a bunch of jobs and you build it back to pretty much a consistent top-10 program competing for championships, that's where you felt blindsided and you felt like you'd earned at least that, right? A conversation," Franklin told Breneman in the interview.

Upon taking the Virginia Tech job, Franklin immediately brought multiple recruiting and operations staff members with him, notably general manager Andy Frank and chief of staff Kevin Threlkel. Franklin signed 12 former Nittany Lions to his roster, led by quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer and tight end Luke Reynolds.

Franklin also built Virginia Tech's 30th-ranked recruiting class in the 2026 cycle in part from his former class at Penn State. Eleven players who committed to Penn State ultimately signed with Franklin at Virginia Tech.

Campbell did something similar in rebuilding Penn State's 2026 roster and recruiting class, leaning on his former Iowa State roster. Campbell signed 24 of his 40 transfers from the 2025 Cyclones and brought 10 recruits to Penn State who had committed to him at Iowa State.

As Campbell grows to learn Penn State's traditional recruiting territory, the recruiting duels will intensify. Franklin, for example, had great success recruiting Maryland's McDonogh School and got a 2027 commitment from 4-star defensive lineman Joseph Buchanan, a top-20 player at his position from McDonogh.

Campbell still is developing his regional recruiting relationships, as his 2027 class includes players from Iowa, South Dakota, Minnesota and Utah. But Campbell also has received commitments from Montgomery, Pennsylvania's fifth-ranked player, and five players from New Jersey.

"Obviously having the [Penn State] logo and the history of this place certainly gives you great opportunity to recruit in this region, which has some of the best football in the entire world," Campbell said. "And that part of its rewarding. Being a part of the football program at Toledo, we recruited a lot of these areas. So you do have some inroads and know certainly what these areas have stood for over time.

"But again, I think it's the process of recruiting the right people, making sure it's the right guys you're bringing in here. We're always going to go slow and right in that process."

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