Miami Coach Sounds Off About Alabama ‘Stealing’ Kicker
Credit: Hustler Belt
By Tucker Harlin
The subject of the transfer portal is a popular and controversial one in the world of college athletics.
College football programs have used it to stack up talent in the last decade, and it’s resulted in some incredible stories.
Five of the last seven Heisman winners have been transfers, and the award is something they wouldn’t have won if they had stayed at their previous institutions.
We’ve seen the portal at positions all across the field, including special teams.
Two of Josh Heupel’s three kickers at Tennessee have been portal additions, one of which hit the game winning field goal against Alabama in 2022.
Speaking of Alabama, it acquired a kicker from the portal this offseason by the name of Graham Nicholson to replace all-time SEC scoring leader Will Reichard.
Nicholson finished 2023 27 of 28 on field goal attempts with a long of 52. He came to Tuscaloosa from this offseason to try his hand in the power conference ranks.
Or as Redhawks head coach Chuck Martin put it, the Tide stole him.
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
While he’s very emphatically voicing his thoughts, Martin’s claim isn’t that outrageous.
If a great player in the group of five wants to transfer to a school in the power conferences to up his exposure, there’s not a lot the group of five schools can do to stop him.
We’ve seen national media types discuss an eventual split between the power four and group of five, and should that happen, we’ll see more and more of this ascension in the transfer portal.
