James Franklin is certainly something of an acquired taste.
The new Virginia Tech coach has only been on the sidelines for two games, and he's already producing viral, awkward exchanges with beat reporters. During his press conference on Monday, Franklin clearly wasn't pleased at the lack of pleasantries from Baltimore Sun reporter Michael Howes.
After Howes introduced himself, Franklin responded, "Hey, Michael." He was apparently expecting a response, because when Howes began his question, Franklin repeatedly cut him off by repeating his "Hey, Michael" refrain.
It took several repetitions of "Michael, how are you doing?" before Howes responded. Franklin then allowed him to proceed with the question, which centered around his relationship with Maryland
coach Mike Locksley, as the two were previously on staff together with the Terrapins.
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
Howes explained on social media that he was participating in the press conference through Zoom. He didn't have a visual on Franklin and assumed his audio was glitching.
Franklin had his fair share of prickly moments with the press during his tenure at Penn State, and it seems not much has changed with him in Blacksburg this season.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: James Franklin had a cringeworthy press conference exchange with reporter
