Kicker Jonathan Doerer’s leg strength was first evident when he was in middle school playing goalkeeper. His father, Brian, said the Maryland football commit’s goal kicks far surpassed any of his peers.
At the start of ninth grade, he left soccer behind to focus all of his attention on football, and his commitment has helped him develop into a Division I kicking prospect.
In June, the Charlotte, North Carolina, native committed to the Terps for the class of 2017. Maryland currently has four kickers — junior Adam Greene is the starter — but Doerer expects to compete for the starting job next fall.
“We feel so comfortable putting him out there, really anywhere up to the 40[-yard line],” said Rocky White, his football coach at South Mecklenburg High School.
Doerer is one of 16 commits in coach DJ Durkin’s first full recruiting class, which ranks 17th in the nation and third in the Big Ten. He’s the 17th-best kicker in the 2017 class according to 247sports, and Kohl’s Kicking, a respected site for scouting kickers, ranks Doerer as the 11th-best in the nation.
Leg strength has always been Doerer’s primary skill. While he regularly nails 55-yard kicks in practice, White said Doerer has also been known to hit field goals as deep as 60 yards in practice. Doerer regularly boots the ball into the end zone on kickoffs, pinning opponents at the 20-yard line.
After spending his first season playing wide receiver and safety, Doerer found his position during his sophomore year.
Before the season began, White and kickers coach Tony Swainey tested out some kickers for the upcoming campaign. After Doerer went, they didn’t need to see anyone else.
“It was pretty obvious he was the one,” White said. “He had an aptitude for kicking.”
Once the year began, people immediately understood the position change.
“I knew right away in 10th grade,” Brian said. “People were coming up to me telling me he could go D1, but he still had to put in the work.”
Doerer did just that, spending extra time practicing his craft. In addition to after-school practice, he would often bike to a school nearby to get in reps, his father said. Since finding his passion in kicking, Doerer has also begun stretching for one hour every night at home, icing his right leg afterward.
As Doerer progressed, the Terps staff took notice. They talked to everyone around Doerer, and his father said Durkin and special teams coach Pete Lembo observed Doerer at numerous kicking camps.
Lembo already had a connection to Doerer’s high school: coaching White’s son during his head coaching stint at Elon. Once Lembo reached out to Doerer, the connection began to form.
“Personally it felt really good, they did a great job reaching out,” Doerer said. “Coach Durkin coaches great players. He’s a players’ coach.”
Part of what helped Doerer decide were White’s tales of facing the talented Terps teams of the late 1970s when White played linebacker at the University of North Carolina.
White told him he could be a significant part of a rebuilding program.
After discussions with his parents, who adored the Terps coaching staff and the idea of job opportunities in the Washington area, Doerer wanted to come to this university. He would later commit to Durkin’s program during a visit to campus in June.
White said Power Five schools don’t often offer scholarships to kickers, so Doerer is taking the offer as an implication that he’s a player in the starting kicker conversation going forward.
Doerer has struggled early on in his senior season, making two of his five field goals over the team’s first three games.
But he still feels prepared to kick at the college level, and he’s excited for the opportunity.
“It’s pretty shocking,” Doerer said. “It’s pretty wild to think about. I can’t wait to get out there and kick.”
