It’s not easy for the Miami of Ohio college football team to be a top contender, even in the MAC Conference. While head coach Chuck Martin did help lead the RedHawks to an 11-3 record, and a trip to the Cure Bowl, Miami faces an uphill battle each and every season due to not being one of the premier programs in the nation.
When it comes to comparing Miami to Alabama, there is no comparison. If a star recruit has a chance to play for the Crimson Tide or for the RedHawks, chances are they’re picking Alabama. That’s exactly what happened this offseason when one of Miami’s top players entered the transfer portal, and now Coach Martin is making his feelings known.
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Miami (OH) head coach isn’t happy about losing Graham Nicholson to Alabama
Last year, RedHawks kicker Graham Nicholson was excellent. He became the first MAC Conference player to win the Lou Groza Award as the nation’s best kicker. Nicholson accomplished this feat after making 27-of-28 field goal kicks, including going 35-for-37 on extra points.
However, once the season was over, Nicholson entered the transfer portal, where he landed with the Alabama Crimson Tide. Now, Miami of Ohio head coach Chuck Martin is accusing Alabama of “illegally” stealing their kicker.
“We didn’t lose him. He’s at Alabama. We know exactly where he’s at. 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.”
Miami (OH) coach Chuck Martin on losing Graham Nicholson
Meanwhile, first-year Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer has since responded to Martin’s allegations.
“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.”
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Well, Martin doesn’t see things that way. He doesn’t seem to be a big fan of the transfer portal and how it can lead to losing his star talent to bigger programs. This is a common theme many other small schools have continued to deal with since the transfer portal opened. But he also acknowledges the reality. When you have good players, other teams want to poach them. That’s just the nature of the game.
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