Former Penn State commit following James Franklin to Virginia Tech

One of Penn State's once-prized in-state recruits in the Class of 2026 is heading South to be with the man largely responsible for recruiting him. Running back Messiah Mickens has confirmed his updated commitment to Virginia Tech, thus choosing to follow James Franklin to Blacksburg rather than stay closer to home with the Nittany Lions.

Penn State losing Mickens to Virginia Tech and Franklin is hardly a shocking development. Following Franklin's removal as head coach in Happy Valley, Mickens was among the notable recruits who backed off their commitment to the Nittany Lions. This is typically the norm when a coaching change happens, especially midway through the season, because a player should take the time to evaluate their situation and their prospective school's direction in these circumstances. Mickens had previously stated he would explore Notre Dame and North Carolina despite being committed to Penn State for the past two years.

We still do not know who will be named the next head coach of Penn State, although there is a growing amount of support for the internal hiring of interim head coach Terry Smith from some vocal alumni and members of the football family. But a high school recruit has a much different perspective on the situation, and Franklin had a reputation for developing key relationships with recruits and their families. For Mickens, there is likely some comfort in knowing he will still get to play for Franklin.

Though somewhat expected, this is a tough blow to Penn State's Class of 2026, which is on pace to lag behind the average recruiting classes previously brought in. As the early signing period approaches, Penn State's current recruiting class sits with 10 commitments still on the board.

Penn State's Class of 2026, which had been as high as No. 6 in the nation, has plummeted down to No. 86 in the overall class rankings according to the updated class rankings from 247Sports. For the sake of comparison, Virginia Tech is ranked No. 120 overall with 9 commitments at the moment, including the addition of Mickens. We'll be keeping some tabs on Franklin's recruiting efforts moving forward as it figures to have a direct impact on Penn State's recruiting for the next couple of recruiting cycles. The immediate impact may be the most important.

One of the next names in Penn State's Class of 2026 to monitor is four-star safety Matt Sieg, from McDonald, Pennsylvania. He is still listed as a hard commit to Penn State by 247Sports, but Sieg will make his final commitment decision official on Signing Day, and Franklin's Virginia Tech is a strong rising contender in the final stretch of this recruiting process. Notre Dame is also supposedly in the mix.

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This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: Penn State loses key in-state commit to James Franklin