28 days to Gator football! #28 Chris Doering

[Escambia94]

#28 Christopher Paul Doering was born to be a Florida Gator. He was raised in Gainesville, and walked on to the team without any scholarship offers. He made an immediate impact on Steve Spurrier‘s Florida Gators and went on to set several records for walk-on players: 149 receptions (6th best in UF history), 2,107 receiving yards (10th best), 31 touchdown receptions (tops in UF and SEC history). He is well remembered for his game-saving catch against the Kentucky Wildcats in 1993. He was a key member of the 1993, 1994, and 1995 SEC championship teams. As senior team captain he was First-team All-American and Second-team All-American in 1995.

Chris was a sixth-round pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 1996 NFL Draft, but was traded to the Indianapolis Colts. He moved around from the Colts to the Cincinatti Bengals, Denver Broncos, and Washington Redskins. His best season was with the Redskins under his former head coach, Steve Spurrier. Doering finished his NFL career with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2003 before going into sports broadcasting.

Doering was named to the University of Florida Athletic Association as a Gator Great in 2006, and was named as the #19 greatest player in the Gators first 100 years. Doering is currently a sports broadcaster with ESPN and SEC Network, and is owner of a home loan brokerage in Gainesville. He and his family remain active in the Gainesville area.

He was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a Gator Great in 2006.

[TWEET]https://twitter.com/ChrisDoering/status/1075430732066107393[/TWEET]

 

[Leakfan12]

It was a shame he graduated before the championship team.

 

[Escambia94]

It was a shame he graduated before the championship team.

Agreed. Maybe. It would have been good for him to be on a national championship team, but by entering the 1996 NFL Draft instead of the 1997 NFL Draft with those National Champion Gators he did not have to compete for draft picks with Ike Hilliard (pick #7), Reidel Anthony (pick #16), or 28 other receivers who may have been picked over him. In the 1996 draft he was ranked #20 to #25 in terms of wide receivers (with 33 receivers drafted) and the #5 Gator (with 6 Gators drafted). He likely would have been ranked #25 to #30 wide receiver (with only 25 receivers drafted) and #5 Gator in the 1997 draft (with only 4 Gators being drafted).

 

[DRU2012]

It was a shame he graduated before the championship team.

Agreed. Maybe. It would have been good for him to be on a national championship team, but by entering the 1996 NFL Draft instead of the 1997 NFL Draft with those National Champion Gators he did not have to compete for draft picks with Ike Hilliard (pick #7), Reidel Anthony (pick #16), or 28 other receivers who may have been picked over him. In the 1996 draft he was ranked #20 to #25 in terms of wide receivers (with 33 receivers drafted) and the #5 Gator (with 6 Gators drafted). He likely would have been ranked #25 to #30 wide receiver (with only 25 receivers drafted) and #5 Gator in the 1997 draft (with only 4 Gators being drafted).

I think you may be right about his thinking at the time...
No matter what, though, Chris was (and continues to be) one of my favorite Gator-grads: First, he was like the Posterboy for "over achieving young athletes" who make a difference at the highest level, on great TEAMS. Ya just gotta think that a Coach like SS LOVED a kid like Doerring, who just kept working, improving and COMING THROUGH FOR EVERYONE! No one had to point at him or say a word: He embodied what was required--and where it could take them ALL.
The same can be said for him as a commentator too. He is intelligent, articulate, and though thoughtful, even handed, balanced and fair in his analysis, you never really forget that he's STILL a Gator, thru and thru--and personally, I LOVE that. Shows that you can be good at the job--and still honestly acknowledge your loyalty and roots. That's a tricky road, but he somehow manages it gracefully, imho.