West Virginia Offers Legacy Recruit 2022 DL C.J. Doggette

Ohio sophomore defensive lineman C.J. Doggette’s family has plenty of connections to West Virginia athletics.

C.J.’s father, Cecil, played defensive back for the Mountaineers from 1990-92, while his mother and sister were both members of the West Virginia gymnastics team. The question now is whether C.J. will eventually join his family by attending college in Morgantown?

Doggette (6’2″, 265) now has that opportunity after receiving a scholarship offers from Neal Brown and the WVU staff. It was a big weekend for the talented defensive lineman as he also picked up offers from Michigan State, Kentucky and Pitt.

“It was absolutely exciting to receive these offers but also a real blessing to be in the position that I’m in,” Doggette told West Virginia Sports Now. “When Michigan State gave me that first offer, Kentucky, West Virginia which was obviously a big one and then Pitt, it was unreal and like I said an absolute blessing.”

“While getting all of these now was a little bit of a surprise but at the same time, I knew that eventually schools would be offering soon because of all the work I’ve put in and the film that’s out there on me.”

When looking at that film, Doggette has shown college coaches the ability to play multiple positions along with playing on both sides of the ball but when examining his play at defensive tackle, coaches are comparing him to the best defensive player in the NFL.

updated my highlights
DL Class of 2022
6'2 265
3.5 GPAhttps://t.co/7bovwc9nkY

— CJ Doggette Jr. (@cjdoggette_2022) March 24, 2020

“Coaches love my physicality and quickness for my size because I’m 6’2″, 265 pounds. They like my speed and quickness off the snap and the variety of positions that I’m able to play like tight end, fullback, defensive tackle and defensive end. Teams are telling me that I remind them of Aaron Donald and I agree with that because of my quickness and physicality.”

Despite having the athletic ability to play multiple positions, Doggette tells WV Sports Now that teams are recruiting him as a defensive tackle and that’s where he wants to play in college.

Courtesy of CJ Doggette

In terms of choosing a college, the obvious tie to the West Virginia program is going to be with Doggette until he eventually makes a decision. He’s prepared for the questions and assumptions that will be made but tells me he was excited for the offer and will obviously give the Mountaineers heavy consideration.

“It’s really crazy to think that I have the opportunity to play on the same field that my dad once played on years ago,” said Doggette. “West Virginia has a great program, great campus, great coaches, it was just a huge blessing. My family was very proud when I told them about the offer mainly because we have so many family ties there but just like everyone else, they were happy in general for every offer I received but the West Virginia one definitely had a little more excitement because of the obvious reasons.”

When the recruiting ban eventually gets lifted, Doggette says that he plans on making a visit to Morgantown as well as to other programs that have offered him.