Alabama Faces ‘Illegal’ Recruitment Allegations from Ex-Notre Dame Coordinator

One college football coach did not hold back when accusing Alabama of illegally recruiting one of his top players.

Since NIL became legal, big-time programs have found a loophole by setting up unaffiliated NIL collectives, which allow them to pay players without breaking the rules.

Meanwhile, the transfer portal has turned into a revolving door, with more and more players leaving smaller schools for these bigger programs.

As a result, top programs and their NIL collectives are teaming up to lure players from lower-level teams entering the portal, often with cash incentives on the table.

However, there's growing suspicion that wealthier schools may be approaching players before they even decide to transfer, which is illegal.

In an interview with a school reporter, former Notre Dame offensive coordinator and current Miami (OH) head coach Chuck Martin accused Alabama of illegally recruiting kicker Graham Nicholson.

"We didn't lose him," Martin angrily stated. "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."

Martin was visibly upset because Nicholson wasn't just any other kicker. In 2023, he won the Lou Groza Award, which is given annually to the best kicker in the country. He was the first player in MAC history to win the award.

Nicholson made 27-of-28 field goal attempts with a long of 52 yards. His 27 field goals set a new single-season program record. Now, as a member of the Crimson Tide, he is projected to be a 2024 AP first-team All-American.

It will be interesting to see if more coaches come forward who have been in situations similar to Martin's.

Related: Alabama Extremely Low In Dan Mullen’s New SEC Rankings Prediction