Notre Dame kicker Jonathan Doerer was supposed to be out of eligibility after this season.
The NCAA, though, gave every fall sport athlete an extra year of eligibility, meaning seniors like Doerer have the chance to come back for another year that they initially weren’t considering. And Doerer plans to use it.
“Most likely I’ll be coming back next year,” Doerer said Tuesday.
If so, Notre Dame’s need for a replacement can go on hold for another year. Doerer would return for his third year as the Irish’s primary kicker, a role he ascended into as a junior. He made 17 of his 20 field goal attempts in 2019, his first year in the job, and was 2-for-2 on 50-plus yard attempts. He has made all 66 of his extra point attempts since the start of 2019 and is 3-for-4 on field goals this season.
All told, he has replaced four-year starter Justin Yoon without issue and solidified a position that felt like a potential liability after Yoon’s departure. He’s an asset in his own right – the product of some difficult initial years and maturity through those.
“I came in and I’m 18-19 years old and had certain expectations for what this would be like,” Doerer said. “Those were wrong. Those first two years especially didn’t go the way I liked.”
Doerer handled kickoffs in 2017 and 2018, while Yoon was still around. He was an enigma, the owner of plenty of power in his right leg but lacking consistency. He had four kickoffs go out of bounds in those two years. In both seasons, his touchback rate was below 50 percent. Nonetheless, Notre Dame turned to him as Yoon’s replacement.
“I realized I had to make a lot of technical advancements if I wanted to play the way I wanted to and needed to,” Doerer said. “That was a lot of time working on fundamentals, whether that’s shortening my steps, being more compact in my swing and working on ball striking.”
More than anything, his technique tweaking was a realization of the expectations placed upon him as a scholarship kicker. It required lots of hours and energy, and the realization that he “had to take things more seriously.” When the 2018 Cotton Bowl turned into the 2019 offseason, Doerer dove into his craft and preparation for the role he came to Notre Dame to fill.
“From football perspective, it’s spending more time,” Doerer said. “I tried to come to the field when I was a junior five times a week in spring, six times a week during the summer. I was working on something kicking related every day. That allowed me to build confidence and that made performing that much easier.”
Notre Dame Expecting Production Uptick From Receivers
Brian Kelly revealed the initial snap count for wide receiver Kevin Austin against Florida State, his first game back from a broken foot, will be around 15 to 20.
In the eyes of his classmate and fellow receiver Braden Lenzy, that’s more than enough of a sample for Notre Dame fans to see what he can bring to the offense.
“You’re going to see a star,” Lenzy said. “That’s all I’m going to say.”
And that’s the expectation.
Austin was the expected starter at the “W” boundary receiver spot before Aug. 3 surgery to repair a foot fracture sidelined him. He had five catches for 90 yards as a freshman in 2018 and was suspended for 2019, but Notre Dame is counting on him to be a dynamic downfield threat and contested-catch winner as Chase Claypool’s successor.
“Based upon what we’ve seen prior, (he’s) explosive,” Kelly said of Austin. “Rangy. Outstanding ball skills. A guy who can open up the game, take the top off coverages. He can catch it and go the distance. He can win one-on-one matchups. A guy that would be nice to get on the field for us.”
The first two games have revealed the rest of the receiving corps may not have one of those outside of Austin. Notre Dame receivers have accounted for 11 receptions and 28 percent of quarterback Ian Book’s 406 passing yards.
“I’m not really concerned about numbers,” Lenzy said. “We’re 2-0. That sounds like a pretty good number to me. We have people coming back. This little break has gotten everyone healthy, and I expect a lot.
“Not everyone has gotten too many touches and that connection with Ian yet. We’ve had many practices and a lot of us have had years. I’m excited to see what will happen. With an elite quarterback and elite group, we should have the numbers.”
The receivers have had more key injuries (three) than touchdown catches (one), but those availability issues are waning. Austin will play against Florida State. Lenzy said he is 100 percent after a hamstring injury forced him to sit the opener against Duke. Bennett Skowronek pulled a hamstring against Duke and missed the game against South Florida, but is healthy again.
“What you’ll see is that unit will be one that provides a little more continuity and consistency for Ian in the passing game,” Kelly said. “I do see a unit that will produce at a higher rate. But it’s still going to be one that takes some time. There are a lot of first-year players out there. But I do believe it has a high ceiling.”
Lenzy remains a primary reason for the grand visions. He had three catches for 34 yards against USF, only a brief display of his skillset that is centered around top-end speed. He averaged 17.5 yards on 28 touches in 2019, a workload Notre Dame wants to increase. His swap of jersey number 25 for this year’s 0 was his way of saying he’s ready for it.
“It was a pride thing,” Lenzy said. “When I looked at 25, it reminded me of what I was in high school and early on in college, just a sprinter, kind of a runner, a track guy playing football. I thought getting a single-digit number would make me feel like a true receiver, which I feel like is what I’ve developed into."
----
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, Blue & Gold Illustrated.
• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
• Sign up for Blue & Gold's news alerts and daily newsletter.
• Subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts.
• Follow us on Twitter: @BGINews, @BGI_LouSomogyi, @Rivals_Singer, @PatrickEngel_, @MasonPlummer_ and @AndrewMentock.
• Like us on Facebook.
