Virginia Tech football is now just under three months away from its 2026 season opener, which will take place at Lane Stadium against VMI on Saturday, Sept. 5, at 7:30 p.m. ET on the ACC Network.While a good deal of attention is focused on the 2026 season — over 50 new players enter from the transfer portal and high school ranks, including Penn State transfer quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer and Duke transfer wideout Que'Sean Brown — the 2027 class for Virginia Tech is quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with, at least by the numbers.ESPN's Craig Haubert chimed in on the 2027 recruiting class, giving his rankings of the top-20. Haubert placed the Hokies at No. 19; here's the entirety of what he had to say:"James Franklin quickly revitalized the Hokies' 2026 class once taking over the program and now has a full year to build the 2027 group. He's moving forward building a future around high-upside athletes with strong developmental potential across key positions.The Hokies are adding dynamic talent to their offensive skill positions and landed a top QB to build around. Peter Bourque brings a live arm capable of making high-level throws and running when needed. Franklin, who had success identifying and developing TEs while at Penn State, landed a promising player in Jordan Karhoff, an aggressive and productive two-way player who offers excellent length, good hands and strong blocking willingness, with the athleticism for a hybrid role.Virginia Tech is strengthening its defensive backfield with versatile playmakers. CB Chase Johnson displays physical play in press-man coverage and aggressive tackling on the perimeter. He possesses excellent awareness to jump routes, the speed to defend vertical plays and the ball skills to generate turnovers. Defensive end Joseph Buchanan has a nice blend of size, power and disruptive quickness."When Bourque comes to Virginia Tech, Grunkemeyer will be a redshirt junior, barring a medical redshirt; Huhn, presumably a redshirt freshman. Ryan and Baker would both be redshirt sophomores.Bourque is the highest-rated recruit of the Hokies' 19-player class at the time of writing, ranked as the Class of 2027's No. 80 recruit (No. 82 on 247Sports Composite). Moreover, on 247Sports' all-time Virginia Tech recruiting rankings, Bourque is No. 12 all-time and No. 5 of all quarterbacks.At the time of writing, Virginia Tech's recruiting class ranks No. 9 on 247Sports, which values both quantity and quality. By points, Virginia Tech sits at 217.73 (No. 9), only behind Texas A&M (263.12), Oklahoma (251.04), Miami (245.79), Notre Dame (233.85), Florida (230.60), Clemson (224.87), Penn State (220.90) and UCLA (220.00). By average player ratings, Virginia Tech drops to No. 16, but rises to second in the ACC (still behind Miami).Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow