Do not shortchange James Franklin a pleasantry.
In the early leader for the most cringeworthy moment of the college football season, the new Virginia Tech coach repeatedly kept saying, “Hey, Michael” to a reporter Monday before answering the question.
Making it all the more awkward: Said reporter, Michael Howes of the Baltimore Sun, actually said, “Hey, coach” before offering his query to Franklin.
Let’s get to the play-by-play of the interaction.
“Hey, coach, Michael Howes of the Baltimore Sun,” Howes said while on Zoom.
“Hey, Michael,” Franklin said before Howes said, “Um,” and then Franklin followed with another “Hey, Michael” to let you know things were about to get weird.
“What do you remember about work…,” Howes said before Franklin again said, “Hey, Michael.”
Howes began again, “What do you remember about working…,” when Franklin interjected: “Hey, Michael.”
This Abbott & Costello routine then entered Act III when Howes again tried to ask about the past and Franklin just wouldn’t let it go.
“Hey, Michael,” he said. “How you doing, Michael? Michael, how ya doing?”
A few awkward seconds passed before Howes asked if he could hear him, and Franklin said, “Yes,” while explaining the weird situation unfolding.
Said Franklin: “I’m saying, ‘how you doing?’”
Howes then finally gave Franklin what he was looking for.
“I’m good, how are you?” he asked, to which Franklin replied: “Good, good.”
Now that he had what he deemed as a proper response, Franklin allowed Howes to continue uninterrupted about how his relationship with Maryland coach Mike Locksley has evolved.
Franklin’s Hokies visit Maryland on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Howes explained on X on Monday that Zoom issues led to the weird back-and-forth.
“James Franklin really wanted to know how my day was this morning,” he wrote. “Couldn’t see him on Zoom and thought the audio was glitching. My apologies, James.”
This type of interaction will only be used against Franklin should he not win big with Virginia Tech and there are questions about his team’s ceilings.
Franklin is a masterful recruiter and almost always produces a good team, but his last stop at Penn State came to be defined by his team’s inability to win a game that mattered.
His antics, such as how he used to tweet the opponent’s name repeatedly on X while at Penn State, drew more attention if he’s not winning.
Virginia Tech is 2-0 to start the year and had scored 117 point across its two games, and the Hokies are three-point road favorites for Saturday’s tilt in College Park, Md.
