Pitt remains on top for Doyle following Watson's visit

After weeks and weeks of waiting for Pitt fans and prospects alike, a significant milestone in the program’s 2018 recruiting cycle finally passed today: new quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator Shawn Watson made the trip from Pittsburgh (Pa.) to Washington (D.C.) in order to watch key quarterback target Kevin Doyle work out and throw for him.

“Things went really well with coach Watson. He told my head coach that I did really well,” Doyle said, and although the NCAA limits serious contact between prospects and coaches during the spring evaluation period, they did bump into one another. “We happened to pass each other and I shook his hand and said thanks for coming. He told me that he was happy to be there.”

Doyle has been perceived as Pitt’s top target for several months, dating back to the end of the summer of 2016, and possibly even farther than that. Still, with the departure of former coordinator Matt Canada for Louisiana State, the Pitt offensive brain trust, led by Watson, wanted to watch Doyle throw to make sure he remained atop their board. That throwing session seemed to go very well.

“We had a lift at school and then after that, we went outside to throw. The wide receivers from my school went through the whole route tree with me throwing them the ball,” Doyle explained. “Coach Watson watched me throw right next to me and then my head coach was telling me what to throw. He told my head coach that he loved it.”

Like many young quarterbacks, Doyle is always working for perfection and self-improvement and seems to be harder on himself than even his coaches or trainers. Even by his tough standards, it was a strong day despite the weather.

“I personally am always very hard on myself, and considering it was wet and a little cold, I would give myself around an 85-90 percent. A few misses here and there, but I am a perfectionist, so I pick on the minor details. I wouldn’t say I was nervous, not really,” Doyle said. “If anything, I was excited. It’s not every day you get to have multiple college coaches watching you throw and inspecting you from head to feel. It’s a neat feeling.

“Pitt, Army, Michigan State, Holy Cross, Harvard, and Duke were all there today. It wasn’t just about me though, other schools were there to see other kids, like our linemen, receivers, defensive backs, and so on.”

While the other Power Five programs on campus weren’t there for Doyle today – both Duke and Michigan State have already filled their quarterback spot in the 2018 class – there has been some concern as of late among the Pitt fan base that they could face competition for the Pennsylvania native. Purdue and Kentucky are viewed as perhaps the most notable schools working to pry Doyle away from his long-time bonds with Pitt, but they’ve been unable to close the gap yet. With a summer decision looming, those schools would have to change that quickly.

“Pitt is my number one, but I am still going to look around and make sure I am making the best decision for both myself and the school… I would like to have a decision around June, I would say,” Doyle said.

Landing Doyle would be a massive boost for the Pitt recruiting class and could give the Panthers a potential class leader, alongside current tight end and H-back commit Jay Symonds Jr, to help build the 2018 crew. Only time will tell if Pitt can stay on top, but today’s visit from Watson was a key step in that process. Doyle has no other visits planned at this point in time after visiting Pitt in March, but Kentucky's Darin Hinshaw will be at St. John's to see him throw on May 1st.

Check out highlights from Doyle’s junior season at Malvern Prep (Pa.) below, where he played prior to transferring to Washington (D.C.) St. John’s.