Kalen DeBoer shrugs off Miami (OH) coach's claim that 'Alabama stole our kicker'
Miami (OH) kicker Graham Nicholson transferred to Alabama this offseason. Miami (OH) head coach Chuck Martin apparently still isn't happy about how it went down.
Speaking with Miami Sports Network's Terry Bridge on Wednesday, Martin was asked about Nicholson's exit — specifically, how he had "lost your kicker." Martin quickly responded by accusing the Crimson Tide of stealing his kicker and complaining that no one seemed willing to talk about it.
Martin seemed pretty irate as soon as he started talking:
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
Martin's full answer:
“We didn’t lose him, he’s at Alabama. We know exactly where he’s at. Again, you media people, it’s all pretend. Like, no, Alabama stole our kicker. They illegally recruited our kicker and stole him from us and that’s a fact, but we act like it’s not. We live in this la-la world, like, ‘Hey, let’s not talk’ I don’t know why. Everybody knows what’s going on, so yeah, Alabama stole our kicker. A couple other schools tried to steal him, but then they — OK, what was the question?"
One day later, the question reached Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer. His response:
“I don't know anything about that, that comment. He entered the portal and we reached out to him. That’s how it goes, right? So we did everything we were supposed to do.”
Nicholson was indeed a bad player for Miami to lose, and a significant win for Alabama in its first offseason under DeBoer.
The 21-year-old won the Lou Groza Award for being the nation's top kicker last season, after making 27-of-28 field goals and 35-of-37 extra points. That included a make from 52 yards. He is now set to replace Will Reichard, a five-year starter under Nick Saban who earned SEC Special Teams Player of the Year honors last season and graduated as the NCAA's all-time leading scorer.
Under normal circumstances, a kicker transferring from Miami (OH) to Alabama for his senior year wouldn't exactly be seen as suspicious. Group of Five All-Americans often transfer to big-time programs, especially ones with a gaping hole at this position.
Martin's words indicate there might have been more going on behind the scenes, but at the same time, saying another program "stole" his player is some tenuous phrasing considering that stealing, by definition, makes the subject a piece of property. And as we're learning in the modern NIL era, athletes are very much capable of acting on their own accord.
