BLACKSBURG, VA — James Franklin and Virginia Tech have landed their third commit — and third blue-chip prospect — of the day with the commitment of four-star offensive tackle Junior Saunders, who hails from in-state high school Woodberry Forest. He announced his commitment via Twitter/X.1000% committed let’s go Hokies 🦃🦃🦃 pic.twitter.com/5OKkMJvbCS— Jr Saunders (@JrSaunders8) June 7, 2026Saunders is the 22nd commitment of the 2027 class, along with the 14th top 500 prospect (per 247Sports Composite) to make a pledge to the Hokies, joining the following list:QB Peter Bourque - No. 82 NATLTE Jardon Karhoff - No. 192 NATLDL Joseph Buchanan - No. 247 NATLCB Bryce Woods - No. 270 NATL (committed earlier today)OT Junior Saunders - No. 341 NATLWR Cam Wade - No. 353 NATL (committed earlier today)RB Javian Jones-Priest - No. 361 NATLCB Chase Johnson - No. 365 NATLTE Sam Faniel - No. 406 NATLWR Demarcus Brown - No. 414 NATLS Elijah Butler - No. 438 NATLIOL Kaden Buchanan - No. 467 NATLWR Anthony Roberts - No. 468 NATLCB Austin Barrett - No. 493 NATLStanding 6-foot-6 and 270 pounds, Saunders is a prototypical offensive tackle, likely projecting as a right tackle once he develops into a college-ready body.He is the top ranked offensive linemen in Virginia Tech's 2027 class, joining as the fourth offensive lineman of the class. Per 247Sports, Virginia Tech has the sixth ranked class in the country and the second best in the ACC, jumping Clemson with the addition of Saunders and finding themselves just three spots behind national runner up Miami in the national recruiting rankings.The Hokies have spent a large amount of the James Franklin era heavily pursuiing the in-state prospect, finally landing his commitment. Saunders chose the Hokies over NC State, Virginia, South Carolina and Tennessee, all of which he either already visited or had a planned visit prior to announcing his pledge to the Hokies.He also held offers from Florida, Ohio State and West Virginia, among various others to total 20 offers.Saunders is Franklin's fourth in-state commit, with each of them being top 11 players in the state — Saunders being the highest rated at No. 7 per the 247Sports composite ranking system.He is a bit underweight for a college-level offensive tackle, so he will likely redshirt as a freshman and even possibly sit as a redshirt freshman to adjust his body before he is ready to play at an ACC level. Nonetheless, Matt Moore and James Franklin got a very highly touted in-state recruit.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow