The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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NOVEMBER 2017 THE WOLVERINE 73 COMMITMENT PROFILE In the 2018 class, Jim Harbaugh made it quite clear that he'd like to snag two quarterbacks — and as of early October that's what he had done. Orlando (Fla.) Olympia four-star dual-threat quarterback Joe Mil- ton committed to the Wolverines in May, and just a few weeks into the 2017 season, Washington (D.C.) St. John's College High three-star pro-style quarterback Kevin Doyle also pledged to U-M. Doyle, the lower rated of the two, isn't scared by competition, and in fact, he seems to welcome it. Doyle, who took his official visit to Ann Arbor for the Michigan- Michigan State game Oct. 7, was well aware of Milton's status when he decided to pull the trigger and is not at all worried about sharing the quarterback spotlight with a coveted player like Milton. "You want to be confident in your- self and your play, and be the best teammate possible. I don't think it'll be an issue. Once we get there every- one will see who deserves to play. "It's not a big deal for me that there are two quarterbacks in the class. I would've committed to Michigan with Joe there or not. "I love to compete, and I've com- peted my whole life. It doesn't bother me. There's going to be competition in the quarterback room so what's one more?" Marcus Hammond, Doyle's quar- terback coach at Next Level Greats, is not surprised by Doyle's com- ments. The quarterback guru said that Doyle's competitiveness is one of the things that stands out about him the most. "The biggest thing that drives Kevin is that he's competitive," Ham- mond said. "Some people look at that as not being an attribute of a player, but it is. He gets better with competi- tion and really thrives on that." Hammond is also high on Doyle's physical tools. The senior quarter- back has really developed a lot over the past couple of years. "He's 6-4, 214 pounds and sneaky athletic," Hammond explained. "He's been clocked at a 4.7-flat hand- timed 40. On a laser he ran a 4.81. He's got a rifle of an arm, and as he's getting older he's picking up more and more of the mental side of the game. "His arm strength is phenomenal. Arm strength-wise, he'd be right in the middle of things with the quar- terbacks at Michigan right now. I think he's going to be extremely pre- pared to compete for a position once he steps on campus." Rivals.com Mid-Atlantic recruiting analyst Adam Friedman is another Doyle fan. "Doyle has great measurables and certainly passes the eye test," Fried- man said. "His mechanics are not flawed, and he can definitely put some zip on his throws. Doyle has the ability to throw to pretty much any part of the field and plays well within his system." Michigan has been in the back- ground of Doyle's recruitment for a while, and now it's the only school he'll focus on throughout the rest of his senior year. "It's a great school and a really nice campus, a top-25 program all the time," Doyle said. "I'll be able to compete for a national champion- ship and if you have hopes and as- pirations of playing in the NFL then Coach [Jim] Harbaugh is the guy to get you there. "There's really no other place that you can go that has all of these combinations." St. John's College High is high school No. 3 for Doyle, which has created a bit of inconsistency in his development and game, but he seems to have really found his groove in D.C. He's considered a three-star recruit and the No. 7 player in Washington, D.C., and could end up being a major coup for U-M out of the Delaware- Maryland-Virginia region. — Brandon Brown Kevin Doyle's Pledge Gives U-M Quarterback No. 2 In Its 2018 Class FILM EVALUATION Strengths: Kevin Doyle has been described as a big, strong, plus-athlete at quarterback who can make all of the throws. He's also extremely intelligent on and off the field, and seems to really understand how to play the position from a leadership and work ethic standpoint. Areas Of Improvement: Doyle can be very accurate, but he's still working on his consistency. He's also focusing on getting the ball out quicker. Scanning the field to find his options is something that will improve at the next level as well. Michigan Player Comparison: Don't think greatest-of-all-time in the NFL Tom Brady, think enrolling-at-Michigan Tom Brady — that's how Doyle looks. As se- niors in high school, both measured in at about 6-4, 210 pounds, were described as strong-armed and accurate, and weren't the most heavily recruited prospects in the world. Doyle has an edge in terms of overall athleticism, but the two actu- ally have a lot of similarities in their games and were both described as fierce competitors as well. — Analysis from TheWolverine.com Rivals.com rates Doyle as a three-star pros- pect and the No. 7 player in the Washington, D.C., area. PHOTO BY BRANDON BROWN Doyle on being U-M's second QB commit "It doesn't matter to me. I love to compete, and I've competed my whole life. It doesn't bother me. There's going to be com- petition in the quarterback room so what's one more?"