Doering grew from his time at Florida

Former University of Florida star and NFL wide receiver Chris Doering was the featured speaker at the Little Rock Touchdown Club on Tuesday at the downtown Doubletree. Doering spoke on a variety of topics. ranging from his college playing days to the current state of the University of Arkansas football program.

“I walked on at University of Florida,” Doering said. “I grew up in Gainesville. Both my parents graduated from Florida. All I ever wanted to do was play football for the Gators and play in the NFL from the time I was 5 years old.”

While he accomplished both goals, Doering talked Tuesday about how not being given a scholarship initially at Florida made him work harder. He eventually earned a scholarship his sophomore year, but always used the fact that he had to walk on to motivate him to reach even higher goals.

“I’m grateful for the path I was forced to go,” Doering said. “For me, it was always this chip on my shoulder.”

Despite his walk-on status, Doering would go on to become one of best wide receivers in Gator history. For his career at Florida, Doering recorded 149 receptions for 2,107 yards and 31 touchdowns — all top-10 marks in school history.

Doering played under Steve Spurrier while at Florida. He thrived in the pass-happy offense that Spurrier innovated, becoming a first-team All-SEC player and a second-team All-American his senior season in 1995.

“The cool part about it was he [Spurrier] revolutionized the way that college football was played in the conference [SEC], but also nationally,” Doering said. “A lot of what you see now were things that we were doing way back in the ’90s.”

Doering was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the sixth round of the 1996 NFL Draft. Before he ever played a snap in Jacksonville, Doering was traded to the Indianapolis Colts where he played sparingly.

Doering also had stints with the Cincinnati Bengals, Denver Broncos, Washington Redskins, Pittsburgh Steelers and Houston Texans. For his NFL career, Doering caught 42 passes for 476 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also played for the Carolina Cobras and the Los Angeles Avengers in the Arena Football League.

The timing of Doering’s appearance at the Little Rock Touchdown Club was fitting as the Razorbacks are set to travel to Gainesville for a matchup with the Gators on Saturday. The former Gator gave his thoughts on the state of the Arkansas program that has struggled immensely this season.

“With the transfer portal, I really do think there’s an opportunity to overhaul your team much quicker now,” Doering said. “You saw Miami went out and really changed their offensive line overnight with the way they addressed it in the transfer portal. My hope is that this offseason, Arkansas can kind of do the same thing.”

In his post-playing career, Doering has become involved in several different ventures. He has worked in sports radio and is now a fixture as an SEC Network football analyst. He also owns a mortgage brokerage in Gainesville.

“Really tough transition for all athletes, whatever level you play at,” Doering said. “Once you get done playing, trying to figure out what your next stage of life is. Everything that I learned in sports, particularly in football, has impacted me in my post-playing days.”