Miami (Ohio) football coach Chuck Martin levied significant allegations against Alabama football on Wednesday.

In an interview on the team's official YouTube page, Martin claimed the Crimson Tide "illegally recruited" and "stole" Lou Groza Award-winning kicker Graham Nicholson, who transferred to Alabama this offseason. His comments were in response to the interviewer saying the RedHawks "lost" Nicholson to the transfer portal.

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"We didn't lose him. He's at Alabama. We know exactly where he's at," Martin said. "Like, you media people, it's all pretend. Like, Alabama stole our kicker. They illegally recruited our kicker and stole him from us. That's a fact, and that's college; 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. Yeah, Alabama stole our kicker. A couple of other schools tried to steal him."

Last season, Nicholson was the first Mid-American Conference to win the Lou Groza Award at Miami (Ohio), beating out former Alabama kicker Will Reichard, who holds the NCAA record for most individual points scored over a career. Nicholson has been competing with Conor Talty for the starting kicker role for the upcoming season.

Nicholson initially entered the NCAA transfer portal in December 2023 but then withdrew his name. He re-entered the portal on April 19 and committed to Alabama just two days later. As a transfer, Nicholson was the No. 1,371 overall player but was the top-ranked kicker, per 247Sports Composite Rankings.

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Kalen DeBoer responds to Chuck Martin accusation

DeBoer spoke to reporters following Thursday's practice and responded to Martin's accusation.

"I don't know anything about that comment," DeBoer said on Thursday. "He entered into the portal, and we reached out to him. So, that's how it goes, right?"

Graham Nicholson stats

Here's a look at Nicholson's stats from his three years at Miami (Ohio):

• 2021: 13-for-17 (76.5%), long of 49 yards, 34-for-38 extra points (89.8%), 73 points

• 2022: 18-for-22 (81.8%), long of 49 yards, 25-for-25 extra points (100%), 79 points

• 2023: 26-for-27 (96.3%), long of 52 yards, 35-for-36 extra points (97.2%), 113 points

• Career: 57-for-66 (86.3%), long of 52 yards, 94-for-99 extra points (94.9%), 265 points

Graham Nicholson recruiting

Nicholson signed with Miami (Ohio) as an unranked prospect in the 2021 recruiting class. He attended Summit Country Day School in Cincinnati, where he helped the Silver Knights to two state championships in soccer.

As a transfer, he was ranked as the No. 1,371 overall player but was the top-ranked kicker in the portal.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama 'stole' kicker Graham Nicholson, per Miami (Ohio) coach