Virginia Tech's second summer official visit weekend is proving to produce more impressive results than its first as four-star OT Junior Saunders out of Northern Virginia committed to the Hokies.
The 6'6'', 270-pound offensive tackle chose the Hokies over Tennessee and South Carolina where he was scheduled to take official visits the next two weekends plus UVA and NC State where he previously took official visits, and other offers from Ohio State, Florida, Florida State, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Syracuse, and others.
He is the third new commit from this weekend's official visitors along with four-star WR Cam Wade from Northern Virginia and four-star CB Bryce Woods from Georgia. He is the fourth commit from Virginia this class along with Wade, three-star WR Demarcus Brown from Roanoke, and three-star TE Sam Faniel from Richmond. He is also the fourth offensive line commit in this class along with three-star OL Kaden Buchanan from Tennessee, and three-star OT Luke Braham from West Virginia, and three-star OT Dylan Latell from Ohio.
Saunders is ranked as the third best recruit in Virginia in 2027 by ESPN, sixth best by 247 Sports, and 16th best by Rivals.
This is a massive in-state recruiting victory for James Franklin landing a top 10 in-state recruit in Saunders who was slated for two official visits to Tennessee and South Carolina the following two weekends prior to his decision today. OL coach Matt Moore also deserves plenty of credit for what was a staff-wide effort to land Saunders.
VT has always been in a strong position in his recruitment, with this being Saunders' fourth trip to Blacksburg since the arrival of Franklin.
With Saunders on board, VT still seems likely to add 1-2 more offensive linemen this class with four-star OL Q'Mari Hudson from the 757 being among the most notable names to monitor.
