Head coach James Franklin’s heated exchange with a fan during Penn State’s spring game is going viral.
The Nittany Lions have a lot to look forward to after Franklin led the program to its first College Football Playoff appearance last season.
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Franklin, who had been criticized in the past for not leading Penn State to major wins or the playoffs, helped set a program record with 13 victories in 2024 as an 11th-year head coach at State College.
The 2025 Nittany Lions return multiple stars from the playoff team that came one game shy of playing for a national title. Additionally, Franklin and Co. landed Ohio State’s national champion defensive coordinator Jim Knowles in the offseason.
However, despite the promising feeling around the program, Franklin was heckled by a fan during the Blue-White Game on Saturday.
And Franklin’s behavior in response has Penn State fans talking.
Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin.Matthew O’Haren-Imagn Images
Posted by a Penn State fan on X, the video shows Franklin approaching the stands while asking the heckler to speak with him about the undisclosed issue after the game.
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“I’d be happy to talk to you about it,” Franklin said. “If you want to come talk to me after the game, I’d be happy to talk to you about it.”
“Who said it? I’d be happy to have a conversation,” Franklin added before turning away.
Franklin went on to turn around once again before wishing one fan a happy birthday.
Some Penn State fans took to social media to respond to the surprising situation and were critical of their head coach.
“I know what was said (it wasn’t bad at all),” one Penn State fan wrote. “It’s childish and if Franklin can’t take simple heat, he doesn’t belong as the head coach.”
“He should be bigger than that. Grow up, @coachjfranklin,” another responded.
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“I wish James Franklin cared that much about beating Ohio State or Michigan,” one added.
Others, of course, focused their critiques on the unnamed fan and backed Franklin’s behavior.
“I have no issue with Franklin inviting a fan to have a conversation,” one disagreed. “If you have the nerve to say things from the crowd you ought to have the nerve to say it to his face too.”
“I don’t know what was said, but it’s even more childish for a fan to heckle during an intro-squad scrimmage where the only objective is keep every player healthy,” one added.
“There’s 0 reason to be doing that (at) Blue-White. Especially when he’s coming off his best season,” a fan wrote.
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Regardless of what was said, it’s certainly rare for a head coach to get into a heated exchange like that with his fan base.
Penn State will open the 2025 season at home against Nevada on Aug. 30.
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