In recruiting news, one of Penn State football’s top Class of 2026 commits told Nittany Sports Now his reaction to the news that James Franklin will be Virginia Tech’s next coach.
Of the 12 players still committed to Penn State, Jackson Ford is the second-highest rated per On3Sports.
The in-state product from Malvern Prep is the No. 5 player in the state from his class per 247Sports, along with the No. 22 EDGE and No. 208 overall player.
Ford is one of the few commits left who hasn’t either de-committed or re-opened his recruitment.
But Ford is also a big fan of Franklin, so he has some things to consider with just a few weeks left before signing day.
WHAT FORD SAID
“It’s definitely something to think about i think that’s a great hire and also a great program building over there,” Ford told NSN. “I haven’t thought about the situation fully but it is something that i’ll have to thinking about through this upcoming week.”
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Ford also expressed his enthusiasm for Franklin getting the job.
“I’m just really happy for coach Franklin, he said. “VTech is a very good school and coach Franklin is one of the best coaches in the business.”
‘HE GAVE ME GREAT ENERGY’
Upon committing to Penn State, Ford told On3 Sports that the relationship he built with Franklin and Penn State defensive line coach Deion Barnes was the biggest part of him committing, and talked specifically about his relationship with Franklin.
“It is easy to have a relationship with your position coach, but the one with the head coach meant a lot to me,” Ford said. “Coach Franklin was really invested in me. We had real conversations, and he gave me great energy. How he acted in my recruitment was big.”
Ford also has offers from schools such as Boston College, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State, Pitt, Rutgers, Stanford, South Carolina, USC, Virginia Tech, Wisconsin and West Virginia.
