Virginia Tech made a major splash on the recruiting trail Sunday afternoon as three-star WR Demarcus Brown out of Roanoke, VA flipped his commitment from Virginia to the Hokies.
The 6'3'' Brown is now the ninth member of Virginia Tech's 2027 recruiting class and the second wide receiver commit along with three-star WR AJ Roberts out of North Carolina. Somewhat surprisingly, Brown is the first in-state commit for the Hokies in the 2027 class.
Brown is a consensus top 10 recruit in Virginia who is ranked seventh overall by 247 Sports, ninth by ESPN, and tenth by Rivals. He is considered the top WR in Virginia by 247 Sports and the second best WR behind Richmond standout Iveon Lewis for both ESPN and Rivals.
Brown has a strong offer list that includes the likes of VT, UVA, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Louisville, South Carolina, West Virginia, Vanderbilt, NC State, Maryland, Pittsburgh, Wake Forest, Syracuse, California, and others. This comes after Brown had an impressive junior season at Roanoke's North Cross during which he had 53 receptins for 1,112 yards and 14 touchdowns.
WRs coach Fontel Mines has done a tremendous job at landing the top wide receiver recruits in Virginia throughout his tenure in Blacksburg with Brown being the latest to join a group that includes the likes of Keylen Adams, Chanz Wiggins, and more in that regard.
Overall, this is a strong recruiting victory for James Franklin pulling one of the best recruits within an hour or so of Blacksburg into the fold after he previously chose UVA. VT showed lots of in-state recruiting improvement under Brent Pry but didn't have the most success in backyard areas like Roanoke, something that might just be changing under Franklin. It's also a strong in-state recruiting statement for Franklin to flip UVA's highest-ranked in-state commitment before he even coaches a game.
VT likely isn't done at wide receiver this cycle with four-star WR Iveon Lewis out of Richmond announcing soon (though Kentucky is rumored to be trending for him) Among non-VT WR commits, the Hokies have official visits scheduled with Lewis, four-star WR Elias Pearl from Florida, three-star WR Jaiden Kelly-Murray from South Carolina (who decommitted from the Gamecocks after a VT visit) all on the weekend of May 29-31 plus three-star WRs Khristian Jackson and Tajeh Watson on June 5-7, three-star WRs Chanin Harris, Carlos Ferguson, Jailyn Moore, and Austin Coles on June 12-14, and three-star WRs Anthony Henderson and Anthony Williams on June 19-21.
