Maryland football had a fun jab teed up for Virginia Tech and coach James Franklin when the Hokies visited College Park.
The Terrapins overloaded their video board with messages of "Hey Michael" in red, yellow and white lettering at SECU Stadium.
Hello đź‘‹ pic.twitter.com/r7u0hxDVkS
— Michael Howes (@Mikephowes) September 19, 2026
The seemingly benign message is actually in reference to a video clip of Franklin that went viral in the leadup to the Maryland-Virginia Tech game. Earlier in the week, while answering a call from Baltimore Sun sports reporter Michael Howes, Franklin refused to let him get a question in until he had answered his question.
That question, of course, was first prompted
by the repeated refrain of "Hey Michael" in an attempt to get Howes' attention. The Sun reporter was understandably confused before eventually answering Franklin's question, thereby gaining the right to ask his question.
(For those wondering, Franklin was curious how Howes' day was).
James Franklin really wanted to know how my day was this morning.
— Michael Howes (@Mikephowes) September 14, 2026
Couldn’t see him on Zoom and thought the audio was glitching. My apologies, James. pic.twitter.com/tIAOGa4dzm
It appears as though Franklin and the Hokies will get the last laugh, as they took a 35-14 lead into the fourth quarter in the Big Ten-ACC matchup.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Maryland trolls James Franklin with 'Hey Michael' message on video board
