Player movement has reached a fever pitch in the transfer portal era, but few coaches are ever willing to go on the record about it. Miami (Ohio) coach Chuck Martin is one of those few, calling out Alabama for "stealing" star kicker Graham Nicholson via the transfer portal after last season. In a viral interview on the RedHawks' team site, Martin took issue with a claim that the program "lost" Nicholson ahead of the 2024 season.
"We didn't lose him, he's at Alabama," Martin said. "We know exactly where he's at. You media people, it's all pretend. No, Alabama stole our kicker. They illegally recruited our kicker and stole him from us, that's a fact. That's college football. We live in this la la world like 'Hey, let's not talk about it.' We know what's going on. Alabama stole our kicker."
Martin's frustration is well placed. Nicholson, a preseason CBS Sports All-American, became the first player from the MAC to win the Groza Award as the best kicker in college football. His 27 made field goals in 2023 and 84.5% career field goal percentage both rank as the top marks in program history. Nicholson, the top overall scorer in the MAC, was well on his way to shattering the all-time program record of 68 field goals by Gary Gussman.
Alabama was one of several major programs to target Nicholson and allegedly coax him into the transfer portal. First-year coach Kalen DeBoer was tasked with replacing fellow All-American kicker Will Reichard, who left as one of the top specialists in program history. Alabama landed 15 players in the transfer portal, including three from the Group of Five level. Miami (Ohio) lost four players to SEC schools.
When reached for response, DeBoer said "I don't know anything about that, I guess that comment. He [Nicholson] entered the portal and we reached out to him. So that's how it goes, right?"
The MAC has quickly became a top target for power-conference programs to poach across the board. Out of 18 returning All-MAC First Team members, nine transferred to bigger schools. That includes the MAC's Player of the Year DeQuan Finn (Baylor), Offensive Player of the Year Peny Boone (UCF) and Special Teams Player of the Year Nicholson (Alabama).