It's hard to miss Kaden Buchanan when scouring the Friendship Christian (Lebanon, TN) sideline any given Friday night.
Standing at 6-foot-5 and just more than 330 pounds, Buchanan towers over all of his teammates and nearly every opposing player he lines up against on a weekly basis. He's more than just size though.
One of the top 2027 prospects in the state of Tennessee, Buchanan had no shortage of options when it came to choosing his future college home. Ultimately, he ended up choosing one of the final schools who extended an offer to him and now he's a key piece in James Franklin's immediate plans for the future at Virginia Tech.
"It felt like home the first time I stepped on campus," Buchanan said. "I went up there for a spring practice visit
and I knew I found my home. Blacksburg is a lot like where I'm from and the people around there are amazing.
"I talked with Coach (James) Franklin and Coach (Matt) Moore about my development because offensive line is a development position. Talking to them about that and hearing Coach Franklin's point of view on how he's going to change Virginia Tech for the better was big for me."
Getting the Hokies' offense back to the caliber of where it was during the Michael Vick or Tyrod Taylor eras is key for Franklin's success in Blacksburg. Virginia Tech has not had a top 25 scoring offense since 2010.
They're coming off of a season where they were 114th in the country in scoring, averaging only 21.4 points per game. Since Frank Beamer retired before the 2016 season, the Hokies have only had one season where they finished in the top 40 nationally in scoring average.
To combat that, Franklin's put a heavy emphasis on the offensive side of the ball in the Hokies' 2027 recruiting class.
Buchanan is one of the six four-star commitments headlining Viriginia Tech's 2027 class. Of those six, five of the commitments are on the offensive side of the ball.
Tabor Academy (Marion, MA) four-star quarterback Peter Bourque is the headliner of that class. He is Virginia Tech's highest-rated commitment since 2018 and their highest-rated quarterback commitment since Tyrod Taylor back in the 2007 class.
Getting to know his future quarterback was key for Buchanan as he knows that he'll be tasked with keeping him upright in the near future. Over the course of his visits to the school, Buchanan noted that he's gotten to know all of those guys well and that the offensive pledges in particular have grown a close bond.
"Going up there for my official and unofficial visits have gone great with getting to know all of them," Buchanan said. "We have a group chat that we're always texting in as we continue to build our relationship as a whole offensive unit. We have a strong offensive class coming in which is very helpful for the future and it's all looking really good right now."
As much as getting to Blacksburg is on his mind, Buchanan knows that his immediate focus has to be on Friendship's season. The Commanders bring back a plethora of talent, along with some key new pieces as the program aims for its fifth state title and first since 2022.
Having his college decision out of the way now and knowing where and who he'll be playing for at the next level makes focusing on 2026 that much easier. Being fully committed to a program that really wasn't even on his radar until the last year is just an added bonus.
"I based my recruitment a lot on relationships and them coming in later didn't really open my eyes up to what they had to offer," Buchanan said. "However, once I got up there and got around all of the guys, talked with all of the coaches and seeing how they'd develop me, that opened my eyes to see what they could really do. They really showed their whole community while I was there and that meant a lot to me.
"I went from not really knowing anything about them to being able to say that this is my future home. That was the difference."
Follow Sports Reporter Joe Spears on X at @joe_spears7 or via email: JSpears@usatodayco.com. For additional high school sports coverage, be sure to follow @usatodayhss on Instagram and X.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Virginia Tech emphasized offense in its 2027 class. Kaden Buchanan is a big part of it
