Earlier this offseason, the Alabama Crimson Tide added former Miami RedHawks kicker Graham Nicholson out of the transfer portal after he won the Lou Groza Award last season as college football’s top kicker. But according to Miami head coach Chuck Martin, it wasn’t exactly an honest recruitment.
During a recent interview ahead of the season, Martin called out Alabama and new head coach Kalen DeBoer for cheating, claiming that the program “illegally recruited” Graham Nicholson and “stole him from us.”
“We didn’t lose him. He’s at Alabama. We know exactly where he’s at,” Martin said when asked about Nicholson. “Again, you media people – it’s all pretend. Like, no. Alabama stole our kicker. They illegally recruited our kicker and stole him from us. That’s a fact.”
Impossible not to love @Martin_Miami_HC. Alabama stole our kicker! Let's call it what it is! pic.twitter.com/kd64PMXPwk
— Jed DeMuesy (@JedDeMuesy) August 22, 2024
“We act like it’s not – we live in this la la world like, hey, let’s not talk reality. I don’t know why. Everybody knows what’s going on. So, yeah, Alabama stole our kicker. A couple of other schools tried to steal him.”
Last season, Nicholson made all but one of his 27 field goal attempts, hitting every single field goal from under 40 yards. He also made 35 of 36 extra-point attempts in 2023. Now, he’ll be with the Crimson Tide, and Martin is clearly not happy about it.
