‘They illegally recruited and stole him’: Coach blasts Alabama for getting his kicker to transfer

The coach of a much smaller school than Alabama didn’t hold back when he was asked about his star kicker leaving to join the Crimson Tide this offseason.

Chuck Martin has been the coach at Miami (Ohio) for 10 seasons, improving from a 2-10 record in 2014 to 11-3 last year, with a MAC title.

But one of the key pieces from last year’s team, kicker Graham Nicholson, bolted for Alabama in the offseason after hitting 26 of 27 field goal attempts last season, including 10 of 11 from 40+ yards.

It doesn’t seem like that situation sat well with Martin. When he was asked about “losing his kicker” during the offseason, he interjected.

“We didn’t lose him,” Martin said. “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, like, that’s a fact.

“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 other schools tried to steal him.”