Miami (Ohio) head coach Chuck Martin made a strong accusation against Alabama for tampering in the transfer portal during the offseason. In a preseason video released by the university’s athletic department on Wednesday, Martin was asked about replacing kicker Graham Nicholson, who transferred to Alabama. Martin didn’t mince words.
“We didn’t lose him. He’s at Alabama. We know exactly where he’s at,” Martin said of Nicholson, as reported by The Athletic’s Justin Williams. “Alabama stole our kicker. They illegally recruited our kicker and stole him from us. That’s a fact, but that’s college football. … Everybody knows what’s going on. Yeah, Alabama stole our kicker.”
Although kickers aren’t typically the most highlighted positions on football teams, Nicholson is an exception. In his junior year in 2023, he made 27 of 28 field goals and 35 of 37 extra points, earning the prestigious Lou Groza Award for the best kicker in college football, becoming the first from the Mid-American Conference to do so.
Nicholson announced he would play his senior season at Alabama, providing new head coach Kalen DeBoer with a valuable asset as he steps in to replace the legendary Nick Saban.
When DeBoer was asked on Thursday about Martin’s remarks, he responded, “I don’t know anything about [Martin’s comment]. He entered the portal and we reached out to him, that’s how it goes, right? So we did everything the way we were supposed to.”
Martin, who has seen a dozen of his players transfer to power-conference schools over the past four seasons, is clearly not a fan of the transfer portal. This offseason alone, three other key players joined Nicholson in transferring: running back Rashad Amos to Ole Miss, wide receiver Gage Larvadain to South Carolina, and defensive lineman Caiden Woullard to Oklahoma.
Despite the departures, Martin remains optimistic about the RedHawks’ prospects for another MAC championship. After an 11-3 season and a conference title last year, Martin acknowledges the talent on his team and takes pride in the fact that other schools are interested in his players.
“Listen, if you’re not losing good players at this level, you probably don’t have a good team,” Martin said. “If they come after 15 of my guys, I probably just had a pretty good year. Last year, they came after about 15 of my guys, and we won the MAC. There’s a reason. We had good players.”
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