[jwplayer SQWmTWdh-XNcErKyb]
Sometimes specialists get something of a bad rap when it comes to being football players.
Much of the attention goes to the more flashy positions, despite many specialists having just as much — if not more of a direct affect on the game.
Nowadays, we’re seeing more athletic players at the kicker, punter and longsnapper positions. Current Michigan kicker Quinn Nordin is starting to resemble a linebacker more than he is a place kicker nowadays.
You can count Michigan 2021 commit Tommy Doman Jr. among those who have football talents beyond merely booting the ball from point A to point B.
“I see myself as an athlete that punts the football,” Doman told WolverinesWire. “I can throw the ball, I can run a little bit. I can catch the ball pretty well. I’d say that’s how I view myself – as an athlete kicking the football.”
[lawrence-related id=27699,27697,27695]
Doman is a five-star according to Kohl’s Kicking, one of the Wolverines most important recruits this cycle given that special teams has such a strong impact on the game. He credits his relationship with assistant coach Tyler Brown with helping get him to Ann Arbor, but now he’s looking to get ready to be college ready once he arrives on campus.
Not only is Doman getting tips and pointers now, but he’s building a bond with many of the current players — even those who won’t be here once he does arrive in fall of 2021.
“The relationship with Tyler Brown has been kind of building and now it’s like a puzzle piece – it just fits perfectly,” Doman said. “Just trying to – (one thing) he likes to say is ‘build our own language’ as a coach and a player, to help us understand technical things on the kicking side. Just get better together and he also facilitated me talking to Brad Robbins, Will Hart, Quinn Nordin. They reach out to me a little bit on social media and I talk with them.
“I’ve been to a couple camps with Brad Robbins and Camaron Cheeseman, so I got to meet those guys and talk with them. I also talk with them a little bit on social media here and there. Just kinda seeing what type of atmosphere is the specialist room at Michigan has definitely added to me feeling more at home, because I know I fit in with that group.”
According to Kohl’s Kicking, the versatile Doman is the No. 2 punter in the country and the No. 6 kicker. It’s in punting that he earned a coveted spot in the Under Armour All-American Game for the 2021 class.
So while you’d think that might be his destiny at the next level, there’s no telling where he’ll end up. And a big part of that is that Doman will do anything he can to help the team win and do whatever is asked of him — whether that be kickoffs, punts or kicking field goals.
“Not really, it’s just whatever I can do to help the team win,” Doman said. “If they want me to do all three, then I’ll do all three the best. If they say, ‘We want you to do all three,’ I’m all for it, I’m all in. If they say, ‘We want you do kickoffs,’ ‘We want you to do punts,’ kind of whatever it is, really, I’m all for it. I’m just gonna try to be the best at all three and be an asset in all three kicking phases for the team is how I’m going into it, how Coach Brown is going into it. That’s kind of the way we’re dealing with it.”
Off the field, Doman has taken up cooking and golf as his new hobbies, with the former seeming to be the stronger passion.
Chef Gordon Ramsay being his favorite celebrity chef, he’s taken to making Chicken Alfredo and Chicken Parmesan for his family, and finds himself getting better and better as he practices — similar to football.
Once he arrives on campus, Doman has a couple of interests academically. He plans to become an orthodontist, but he also wants to follow in his mother’s footsteps in accounting — a major that Michigan defensive end commit Kechaun Bennett also seeks to pursue. So he’s planning to major in one and minor in the other, giving him plenty of options outside of football.
“I’m going in to major in biology with a dental focus and a minor in accounting,” Doman said. “For pre-dentistry, I’m trying to become an orthodontist, and that’s the correct path. I’ve talked with Camaron Cheeseman and he’s going through the same thing. They do a really good job at Michigan of getting your pre-requisites done and preparing you for dental school and the DAT – the dental exam.
“And then accounting – my mom’s an accountant and I took an accounting class this year and I’ve got a little bit of a knack for it and it’s kinda been fun, I don’t know why. So a minor in that and use that for different fields or my own practice. It’s a very versatile minor.”
[lawrence-related id=27672]