Since James Franklin finalized his deal with Virginia Tech on Monday, he’s been hard at work flipping the 12 remaining members of Penn State’s 2026 recruiting class. He’s also pushing to reestablish his connection with former Nittany Lions recruits who de-committed from the program in the wake of his firing.
It appears that the process is starting at the most important position. A day after taking the job at Virginia Tech, the recruiting experts are already predicting that four-star quarterback Troy Huhn will land in Blacksburg. The former Nittany Lion commit is the top remaining uncommitted quarterback in the country.
NEW: Multiple Rivals insiders have logged expert predictions for Virginia Tech to land 4-star QB Troy Huhn🦃
— Rivals (@Rivals) November 18, 2025
Huhn recently decommitted from Penn State.
Read: https://t.co/xSs7r02BnM pic.twitter.com/tfQaWiRz9v
James Franklin lands commitment prediction for 4-star QB Troy Huhn
Early in the 2026 recruiting cycle, Huhn was one of two Penn State quarterback commits, along with in-state four-star Peyton Falzone. Falzone flipped his commitment to Auburn over the summer, leaving Huhn as an integral part of Franklin’s 2026 class. Now, it appears that he’ll be a foundational piece of Franklin’s rebuild at Virginia Tech.
The San Marcos, California native is the 21st-ranked QB in the country according to 247Sports Composite. At 6-foot-4, he’s a talented pocket passer, though he relies more on anticipation and accuracy than a big arm. He may not be ready to play right away, so Franklin could be a major player in the transfer quarterback market this winter.
One of Franklin’s targets could be Ethan Grunkemeyer. The redshirt freshman has shown impressive flashes since taking over for the injured Drew Allar in Happy Valley this season, and his loyalty could be to Franklin more than the Nittany Lions.
Regardless of whether Grunkemeyer stays or goes, Penn State’s next head coach will need to flip the roster through the transfer portal because, as Franklin gobbles up former Penn State commits and flips current ones, there won’t be much of a recruiting class left to rebuild.
Timing will be another issue for the Nittany Lions, especially if the head coach that Penn State wants to hire leads their team to the College Football Playoff. With Franklin in place now, Virginia Tech has a massive recruiting advantage compared to the other programs looking for a new head coach this offseason.