James Franklin made the biggest splash of his debut spring as Virginia Tech coach with a commitment Thursday from four-star recruit Peter Bourque , the top uncommitted quarterback in the 2027 recruiting class. The 6-foot-5, 200-pound recruit from Hingham, Massachusetts, is ESPN's No.
8 pocket passer and No. 126 overall prospect in the 2027 cycle.
He visited the Hokies along with finalists Georgia and Penn State this spring before announcing his decision on social media Thursday afternoon. Bourque's commitment caps a busy spring recruiting process for the reigning Massachusetts Gatorade Football Player of the Year and marks another landmark recruiting victory for Franklin, who opened his Virginia Tech tenure by signing the nation's 21st-ranked class in the 2026 cycle late last fall, just weeks after the former Penn State coach was hired on Nov.
17. Bourque threw for 2,241 yards with 18 touchdowns and tallied another 15 rushing scores as a junior at Massachusetts' Tabor Academy last fall.
Initially committed to Michigan last August, he pulled his verbal pledge from the Wolverines on Feb. 17, citing a change in offensive scheme under first-year coach Kyle Whittingham and offensive coordinator Jason Beck, who took over last December in the wake of former coach Sherrone Moore's abrupt firing.
Virginia Tech emerged as an immediate contender for Bourque once he reopened his recruitment, entering the fray alongside Florida , Georgia, North Carolina , Penn State and Washington . Bourque traces his relationships with Franklin and Hokies quarterbacks coach Danny O'Brien back to the coaching duo's time at Penn State, and Virginia Tech offered the big-armed passer less than a month after Franklin's arrival late last year.
Bourque visited campus for the Hokies' spring game last month before making his decision. The Hokies have been hoovering commitments in the 2027 class this spring, securing each of the program's 12 pledges in the cycle since March 19.
Bourque follows four-star cornerback Chase Johnson, as the highest-ranked of two SC Next 300 prospects committed to the Hokies' latest class, which also features recent wide receivers in three-star pass catcher DeMarcus Brown and Anthony Roberts. The program signed six top-300 recruits in the 2026 cycle, including four-star quarterback Troy Huhn, a longtime Penn State commit who followed Franklin to Virginia Tech last fall.
For Georgia, Bourque's stiff-arm marks another blow to Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart's prolonged search for a quarterback pledge in a rapidly dwindling 2027 passer market. In addition to Bourque, Georgia has pursued a long list of quarterback prospects this spring, including No.
1 overall passer Elijah Haven and flip candidates Derrick Baker (Tennessee commit), Kharim Hughley (Clemson) and Jamison Roberts (Oklahoma). Four-star quarterback Colton Nussmeier -- the lone remaining uncommitted quarterback in the SC Next 300 -- is another Bulldogs target.
The brother of former LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, ESPN's No. 207 overall prospect also holds interest from Arkansas, Kentucky, Ohio State, UCLA and Utah.