On Sunday, Kevin Doyle’s favorite team, the Philadelphia Eagles, won their first Super Bowl behind former Arizona Wildcats star Nick Foles.
On Wednesday, Doyle became a Wildcat.
The native of West Chester, Pennsylvania, signed with Arizona, giving the UA a pair of promising quarterbacks to groom behind returning starter Khalil Tate. Cienega High School’s Jamarye Joiner officially joined the Wildcats’ 2018 class later in the day.
“It’s been a great week,” said Doyle, who described himself as a “born-and-raised, diehard Eagles fan.”
The addition of Doyle — a three-star prospect who played his senior year at St. John’s College High in Washington, D.C. — capped what will be recorded as Kevin Sumlin’s first recruiting class at Arizona.
Doyle is essentially Sumlin’s first signee. Arizona had signed 16 players when Sumlin became coach on Jan. 14. The other three the school announced Wednesday — Joiner, defensive end Adam Plant and safety Dayven Coleman — were either verbally committed to the UA or secretly signed in December.
Doyle had been committed to Michigan but started to waver on the Wolverines amid changes to their offensive coaching staff. St. John’s coach John Casamento and athletic director Brian Griffin had a good relationship with new Arizona offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone. When they heard Doyle was feeling uncertain about Michigan, they arranged a phone conversation with Mazzone.
After speaking with the veteran coach, Doyle visited Arizona last week. He met with Mazzone, Sumlin, Taylor Mazzone (Noel’s son and the UA’s new outside receivers coach) and B.J. Denker (former UA quarterback and current offensive staff analyst).
Doyle came away with a positive impression. The weather didn’t hurt either. St. John’s signing ceremony was postponed Wednesday because of snow.
“It was great going out there,” Doyle said. “I damn near got a sunburn. That doesn’t happen much up here. As an East Coast boy, I’ve always kind of wanted to see the West Coast. When this opportunity came along, I was fascinated by it. I’m just really excited to get out there.”
Doyle attended Malvern Preparatory School in Pennsylvania before transferring to St. John’s in January 2017. Doyle wanted to experience a higher level of competition, and he got it. The Cadets’ only two losses came against West Coast powerhouses De La Salle and St. John Bosco (by four points apiece).
St. John’s won the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference championship and finished in the top 25 nationally. Doyle was named the 2017-18 Gatorade District of Columbia Football Player of the Year. The 6-foot-3-inch, 210-pounder completed 171 of 280 passes (61 percent) for 2,635 yards with 22 touchdowns and five interceptions.
Doyle will continue his big week by attending the Eagles’ championship parade Thursday. Sometime this summer, he’ll move to Tucson and begin working with Tate and the other quarterbacks.
“I just want to make sure I learn everything, develop as a quarterback and be ready to help the team,” Doyle said. “And learn as much as I can from a Heisman hopeful like Khalil.”
Joiner welcomed Doyle to the squad via Twitter and welcomes the idea of competing against him for playing time. Joiner compared the situation to his junior year at Cienega, when he wrestled the starting spot from senior Tyler Hammons.
Joiner considers that his “biggest accomplishment, because I came in and just fought for a job,” he said Tuesday.
Adding two quarterbacks to the mix was especially important for Arizona given the uncertainty the Wildcats face at the position beyond Tate.
Arizona had four scholarship quarterbacks on their roster last season, plus high-profile walk-on Donavan Tate. Tate (no relation to Khalil) left the program late in the season. Brandon Dawkins and Rhett Rodriguez conceivably could leave as well.
Dawkins, who has started 14 games over the past two seasons, is scheduled to graduate in May. He therefore could leave the UA as a grad transfer and play immediately for another FBS school.
Dawkins appears to have multiple options.
His former position coach, Rod Smith, is now the offensive coordinator at Illinois. The Fighting Illini do not have an established starting quarterback entering the 2018 season.
Neither does Hawaii, which lost 2017 starter Dru Brown to Oklahoma State as a grad transfer. Dawkins was born in Hawaii and visits the islands often.
Another possibility is New Mexico, which hired former UA assistant Calvin Magee as its offensive coordinator.
Dawkins told the Star in December he was unsure of his plans. His father, Frank, said Thursday that Brandon is keeping his thoughts on the subject “pretty close to the vest, even with me.”
“It’s a big decision. It’s his life,” Frank Dawkins said. “He’s 21 now. He’s an adult. He can make his own choices.”
For now, Dawkins is working out with the team and is expected to take part in spring practice.
Rodriguez is the son of Rich Rodriguez, who was fired as head coach Jan. 2. Rhett Rodriguez, who played sparingly as a freshman last year, said last month that he was taking part in team activities and hadn’t made any final decisions about his future.
If Dawkins and Rodriguez were to leave, the only scholarship quarterback returning to the roster besides Khalil Tate would be K’Hari Lane. Lane redshirted last season, so all three of Tate’s projected backups would enter 2018 without ever having taken a college snap.
Arizona’s 2018 class consists of 20 players in all — 11 on offense, nine on defense. Three players — offensive lineman David Watson and defensive tackles PJ Johnson and Mykee Irving — are already on campus.
“This is a very balanced class with talented players on both sides of the ball,” Sumlin said in a statement released by the UA. “The majority of our players signed in December, but we are excited about today’s additions. … Our entire staff is looking forward to getting this group to campus and becoming a part of our program and our community.”
