Penn State's James Franklin accidentally calls fan instead of recruit

When Penn State coach James Franklin went to FaceTime call Shareef Miller, a Rivals three-star defensive end from Philadelphia who signed with the Nittany Lions, he accidentally dialed the wrong number.

On the other end was Aleem Medley, a lifelong Penn State fan who was on his way to work. He answered the call and was shocked to see Franklin’s face.

“It was coach Franklin,” Medley told ESPN.com. “They had balloons in the background. I’m like, ‘Coach?’”

Back in State College, Franklin was celebrating Penn State’s 2015 recruiting class and wanted to give Miller a taste of the scene. Instead, his dialing mix-up made Medley’s day.

From ESPN.com:

"I guess we were off a digit," Franklin told ESPN.com. "This guy comes on the screen and we're trying to call Shareef Miller and I'm thinking, 'This must be Shareef's older brother or someone I haven't met yet,' and the guy's got a huge smile on his face. He goes, 'Coach Franklin!' And I'm like, 'Yeah! What's going on? Congratulations!' He's looking at me like I'm crazy. He goes, 'Coach, I think you've got the wrong number, but this is awesome! It's national signing day! Thanks for calling!'" 

Medley played collegiately at Shippensburg and Millersville, both of which play in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, the same conference that is home to Franklin’s alma mater, East Stroudsburg.

“I was doing most of the talking,” said Medley, who said Franklin asked him if he had any eligibility left. “We just had a good laugh. It was only about 58 seconds or so. I was just so stoked. That was the best news I had in a while. I’m on cloud nine right now.”

Franklin took the mishap in stride and was glad to see a smiling face on the other end of the phone.

“That was classic. That’s a story that will go down for the ages,” Franklin said. “It was so funny.”

For more Penn State news, visit BlueandWhiteIllustrated.com.

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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!

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