Maryland Football Faces Tampering Allegations in Shadowy Hunt for Transfer Kicker

In the swirling chaos of today’s college football transfer market, Sean O’Haire’s move from Richmond to Maryland might seem like just another name on the long list of portal hopscotch. But here’s the kicker — the Ireland-born freshman nailed every single field goal he attempted last season, going a perfect 12-for-12, all while playing sparingly to keep his eligibility clock untouched. For Maryland, snagging a talent like that is a quiet victory amid a noisy offseason. Yet, the waters get murky when you hear Richmond head coach Russ Huesman lay into the Terrapins, accusing them of crossing lines with a $50,000 offer that allegedly coaxed O’Haire out of nowhere. It’s no secret the transfer portal’s a double-edged sword, but when accusations of “tampering” get thrown around, the stakes—and tempers—rise. Huesman isn’t just venting about one player; he’s railing against what he sees as a loyalty vacuum swallowing his program whole, a fate shared by others eyeing greener pastures in higher-profile leagues and bigger spotlight stages. This tug-of-war between developing players and watching them bolt for brighter lights perfectly captures the new reality college coaches must navigate, and Maryland’s O’Haire acquisition is just the latest spark in this fierce debate.

LEARN MOREThe players left the program as the Spiders are set to move from the Coastal Athletic Association to the Patriot League. The CAA is regarded as a more prominent Football Championship Subdivision, receiving four bids into the 2024 postseason. The Patriot League was just a one-bid league.This isn’t the first time Huesman has teed off on the transfer portal this offseason.
O’Haire is a quality addition for coach Michael Locksley’s squad, but Richmond coach Russ Huesman isn’t pleased with how he says the recruiting process transpired.
“It’s not just Maryland. It’s everybody.”

“Every one of these kids we recruited said the Richmond degree was a big reason why they came here. And so now it’s not quite as big a deal. We sign them. We develop them.”
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“There’s no loyalty anywhere in the country,” Huesman said. “It’s absolutely ridiculous with what’s going on out there in college football. I’m disappointed that loyalty doesn’t play a part of it.
In December, Huesman bemoaned the current state of college football. His starting quarterback Camden Coleman and his top two receivers (former Terp Nick DeGennaro and Landon Ellis) left the Spiders for in-state program James Madison. Star safety Matthew Traynor joined Wisconsin, and running back Zach Palmer-Smith left for the University of Louisiana Monroe. Offensive lineman Keith Gouveia will play for Pittsburgh in 2025.
It’s not a major shock to see Richmond have defections within its football program, especially to schools like Maryland.
“We got to see him in the spring, signed him, and probably in a year or two, Maryland will come back and cheat and steal him,” Huesman said of Bonser. “That’s the way it goes out there.
“Maryland tampered with our kicker and gave him ,000,” Huesman told the Richmond Times-Dispatch. “They came in, they tampered. The kid had zero interest in transferring, they offered him money. It happens all over the country, and there’s nothing the NCAA’s going to do about it.”
Former Richmond kicker Sean O’Haire headlines Maryland football’s under-the-radar transfer portal additions this offseason. The Ireland native went 12-for-12 on field goal attempts this past season, only playing in four regular-season games as a true freshman to preserve eligibility, meaning he can play four seasons for the Terps.

O’Haire’s situation is not unique to college football, either. In 2024, former Alabama coach Nick Saban acknowledged on ESPN’s “College GameDay” that he tried to get Toledo cornerback Quinyon Mitchell to join his program despite the future first-round draft pick never entering his name in the transfer portal.
Traynor and Gouveia left Richmond for Power Four programs, while the three James Madison commits joined a program that’s 28-9 in three seasons since moving up to the Football Bowl Subdivision. Their new destinations offer increased name, image and likeness opportunities. Maryland opted into the proposed House settlement, with plans to share revenue annually with football players. Richmond also opted into the settlement, but outlined that it plans to share revenues with the men’s and women’s basketball programs, rather than prioritizing football.
Huesman says there was no previous inclination that O’Haire planned to transfer. He believes Maryland reached out while O’Haire was still on Richmond’s roster in hopes of luring him into the portal, which would break NCAA rules.
“He’s got an unbelievable future,” Huesman said. “This was not on him. This was on Maryland. This was on [O’Haire’s] handlers. It was on a lot of other people that I’m not real happy with.”
The higher level programs also offer more exposure than Richmond, which rarely appears on national TV. Maryland’s 2025 schedule includes notable games against Wisconsin, Nebraska, Indiana and Michigan. With a strong Big Ten career, O’Haire could potentially propel himself into the NFL. Before O’Haire, kicker Chad Ryland transferred to Maryland after four seasons at Eastern Michigan and was drafted in the 2023 fourth round. Since 2021, all 10 kickers taken in the NFL draft played at a Power Conference school.
Maryland’s athletic department declined to comment on Huesman’s statements when asked by The Baltimore Sun.
Still, Huesman has been miffed by the transfer portal’s negative impact on his program. The Spiders added freshman kicker Jackson Bonser after O’Haire’s transfer, and the coach made a tongue-in-cheek comment that his new kicker could soon be on his way out the door, too.