Jonathan Doerer Plans to Return to Notre Dame in 2021
The NCAA’s decision to allow anyone who plays this fall essentially a free year of eligibility looks like it could have some immediate benefits for Notre Dame. Senior placekicker Jonathan Doerer told reporters on Tuesday that he plans on coming back to Notre Dame for a 5th year he wouldn’t have had without the NCAA’s ruling earlier this year.
Doerer’s career got off to a rough start during his first two seasons, so much so that there was some thought that he might lose out the placekicking battle to walkon Harrison Leonard in the summer of 2019. Doerer flipped the script and became a weapon for the Irish, hitting 17 of 20 field-goal attempts last fall, including both attempts over 50 yards.
This season, Doerer is 3 of 4 on field goals and a perfect 9 of 9 on extra points. After missing the first PAT attempt of his career in 2018, he’s connected on his last 71 in a row.
Without the NCAA granting a free year of eligibility, Doerer would have exhausted his eligibility at the end of the year. Now though, Doerer can return in 2021 for a 5th year giving Notre Dame one of college football’s best kickers for another year and crossing one significant need for 2021 off Notre Dame’s off-season to-do list.
There had been some chatter that Notre Dame might offer a kicker for the class of 2021, but a return of Doerer next year might make that unnecessary allowing Notre Dame to preserve a scholarship for another position.
It will be interesting to see how this all plays out with players returning next year that usually wouldn’t have the eligibility to do so. Brian Kelly has brought up the topic a few times of how scholarship counts will work in 2021 with potentially an influx of players wanting to come back in 2021 on top of already full 2021 recruiting classes.
Frank Vitovitch has been Co-Owner and Editor in Chief of UHND.com since joining forces with Kyle Flavin in 1999. Since that time, he has written over 2,000 articles covering Notre Dame football, recruiting, and basketball. He also works with all staff and external writers on all articles published on UHND.com. Frank's love for Notre Dame football started at a young age watching Rocket Ismail give opposing coaches ulcers in the late 1980's. By day Frank works in marketing and holds a degree in Digital Media from Drexel University. Frank's work has been cited by online/print editions of NBC Sports, ESPN, and Sports Illustrated and has been quoted on air by ESPN's Collin Cowherd. He's conducted interviews with Notre Dame legends Rocket Ismail, Randy Kinder, Lee Becton, Reggie Brooks, Michael Stonebreaker, and Ned Bolcar among others over his 20+ years of covering Notre Dame football. He's also been published in the print edition of USA Today Sports Weekly and the USA Today College Football Preview multiple times. Other Published Works/Citations for Frank Three Reasons Notre Dame Will Beat Alabama - USA Today Notre Dame Suspends WR Kevin Stepherson, RB C.J. Holmes Indefinitely - Bleacher Report Notre Dame / Ohio State Fiesta Bowl Preview - Eleven Warriors Brace Yourself: The Fighting Irish are Relevant Again - Sports on Earth Interviews with the Enemy: A Q&A with Frank Vitovitch of UHND - Yahoo! Sports Five Good Minutes: Notre Dame Football Preview With UHND.com - BC Interruption Vicious Electronic Questioning with UHND - MGO Blog
“…..a return of Doerer next year might make that unnecessary allowing Notre Dame to preserve a scholarship for another position…”
Oooh…another wide receiver?