The recruiting market for Greenville DE Franklin Whitley is as hot as anyone’s in the 2026 class right now. The former basketball prospect added another big-time offer this week from Tennessee. That came in right after he wrapped up an official visit to Florida State last weekend.
“That was a great experience. I really loved it. They treated me and my family well down there. I’ll definitely be back,” Whitely said. “Me and another recruit got to hang out with the players after the game. Despite the loss, Coach (Mike) Norvell went to dinner, and the D-Line coach went to dinner. They kept the conversation going. They had smiles on their faces, so I felt like they were really happy for me to be there.”
That was the first official visit for Whitley. Official visit number two will take place this weekend with South Carolina. Whitley visited USC for the Vanderbilt game and wasn’t planning to return until the Alabama game on October 25th. But the recruiting efforts of Shane Beamer, Sterling Lucas and Travian Robertson convinced him to not only visit for that game, but to take his official visit this weekend.
“Them being consistent, contacting me every day, really striving for me,” Whitley said about why this weekend for the official visit. “I appreciated the dedication they’ve had, so I felt like it was only right to come visit them this weekend. I just want to see more of how the program is run. That’s the most important thing to me, how they develop players. I want to speak to players, ask them about the program and how they feel.”
Whitley said he talked with the entire USC defensive staff and Beamer on Wednesday. He also talked to Lucas and some recruiting office personnel on Wednesday night.
Whitley also said he talked earlier in the week with Clemson defensive ends coach Chris Rumph and some folks from the recruiting office, and he has set a mid-week official visit with the Tigers for November 19th. He will follow that official visit with one to Florida that weekend. He also has an official visit set with Alabama for November 15th.
The only other game visit Whitley has scheduled for now is the Vanderbilt at Tennessee game on November 29th.
Whitley also has offers from Georgia, Auburn, Virginia Tech and West Virginia. He said he has not yet pinpointed a favorite.