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Kalen DeBoer was hit with an unexpected question in his most recent media interview following an accusation from a fellow college football coach.
Miami (OH)’s Chuck Martin spoke out this week on the transfer of star kicker Graham Nicholson. After spending three seasons with the RedHawks, he bolted for Tuscaloosa this past April.
Martin believes the special teamer was contacted illegally by the Crimson Tide, accusing the new staff of tampering.
“Alabama stole our kicker,” the head coach said. “They illegally recruited our kicker and stole him from us. That’s a fact.”
Nicholson won the Lou Groza award in 2023 after connecting on 27-of-28 field goal attempts. He was named a preseason All-American ahead of his senior year which is set to begin when Alabama faces Western Kentucky at the end of the month.
His transfer portal recruitment was an interesting one as he entered on two separate occasions. That initial entry came in December with the RedHawks gearing up for a bowl game.
He later withdrew his name from transfer consideration in February before re-entering in April shortly before his commitment to the Tide.
Kalen DeBoer responded to questions about that recruitment on Thursday. He says Alabama did everything by the books.
Kalen DeBoer response https://t.co/eXaHbucjFU pic.twitter.com/zlK03aM67X
— Nick Kelly (@_NickKelly) August 22, 2024
“I don’t know anything about that,” he replied. “He entered the portal, and we reached out to him. That’s how it goes, right? We did everything that we were supposed to.”
A casual denial of the supposed tampering.
DeBoer doesn’t seem worried about the negative headline. He’s more focused on his debut season in Tuscaloosa. Tasked with replacing Nick Saban, he’ll hope to lead the Tide back to another College Football Playoff appearance this fall.
The path to the postseason starts on August 31. New kicker Graham Nicholson will likely play a large part in the team’s success!