On Monday, former Penn State head coach James Franklin flipped three-star linebacker Mathieu Lamah to Virginia Tech. The Virginia native becomes the 14th member of Franklin’s inaugural class in Blacksburg, which now ranks 66th best in the country.
The news came just hours after Franklin landed a commitment from former Penn State 4-star QB commit Troy Huhn, who de-committed from the program after Franklin’s firing. With Lamah gone, Penn State currently has just six commits in the 2026 class, two days out from the early signing period, and is likely to lose more before Wednesday.
BREAKING: Four-Star LB Mathieu Lamah has Flipped his Commitment from Penn State to Virginia Tech, he tells me for @rivals⁰⁰The 6’3 225 LB from Bristow, VA had been Committed to the Nittany Lions since May⁰⁰“The best in VA stay in VA”⁰⁰https://t.co/qL9xrHP7mN pic.twitter.com/RWUG1YtEmL
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) December 1, 2025
Franklin and Lamah has reprised his recruiting slogan from Penn State, “the best in PA stay in PA” to “the best in VA stay in VA.”
3-star linebacker Mathieu Lamah flips from Penn State to Virginia Tech
Lamah was one of many Penn State commits to visit Blacksburg for Virginia Tech’s final home game of the season in Week 13, just days after Franklin was officially announced as the program’s next head coach. Many of them are now committed to Franklin’s new program: Lamah, Huhn, four-star running back Messiah Mickens, four-star tight end Pierce Petersohn, and three-star offensive tackle Marlen Bright.
That’s five former Penn State commits now committed to Virginia Tech, with four-star safety Matt Sieg scheduled to make his decision on Wednesday. If Sieg, or any other Penn State commit, flips, Franklin will have flipped more Penn State recruits than Penn State has left in its 2026 class.
With Lamah gone, Penn State is down to just six commits heading into the early signing period on Wednesday. It’s class ranks 125th in the country, and it doesn’t appear that the program is close to hiring its next head coach.
The 2026 recruiting class is now a lot cause, which is not disastrous with the transfer portal set to open in December, but the program’s next coach will have to make up serious ground in the portal, which isn’t cheap to do.