Toledo filled a hole in their 2016 recruiting class on Thursday night when they landed the commitment of OL Luke Doerger.
Doerger announced his commitment to Toledo on Twitter Thursday evening.
#BlessedAndHonored to commit my academic and athletic collegiate careers to the University of Toledo #ToledoTough pic.twitter.com/1M5oTuzrs8
— Luke Thomas Doerger (@LukeDoerger) July 23, 2015
The 6-foot-3 310 pound lineman chose the Rockets over reported offers from Akron, Buffalo, Marshall, Miami, Ohio, and Penn. He currently attends La Salle High School located in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Shortly after his commitment, Doerger caught up with Hustle Belt to talk about his commitment.
"The entirety of the University of Toledo was a welcoming and fantastic experience. I love the coaches and what they have done/will do with the program. As well they are fantastic in engineering (my field of interest), for which they have co-op."
Doerger is the first offensive lineman to commit to this recruiting class and projects to develop into a solid lineman for the Rockets. Doerger seemed to be a huge priority for the Rockets staff as many of them took to Twitter shortly after his commitment.
Attitude, Effort, and Toughness! Rocket nation adds the key to the future! Huge addition to Rocket Nation! #EliteLiveHere #ChampionLeader
— Matt Campbell (@UTMattCampbell) July 24, 2015
Huge news in #rocketnation. The future of the Toledo OL is rock solid. The definition of intelligence and toughness! #toughpeoplewin
— Tom Manning (@CoachTomManning) July 23, 2015
Doerger cited offensive line coach Tom Manning as a big reason for his commitment.
"Coach manning has had many O-Linemen under his tutelage who have been upstanding men as well as scholars and fantastic athletes. To me, it seems like an opportunity to mold myself into the person I want to be in every spectrum, and that is something I just can't turn down."
All in all, after signing seven offensive lineman for the class of 2015 the Rockets have mostly concentrated on the skill positions in 2016. With that said, Doerger is a guy who can make an impact in the Glass Bowl sooner rather than later.
Excited about Doerger's future with the Rockets? Check out his junior year highlights courtesy of Hudl: