Doyle - a native of Indianapolis, Ind. - is the only Sun Belt Conference tight end among the 33 student-athletes on the preseason Mackey Award list. He is also one of 11 tight ends from last year's preseason watch list to appear on the list again in 2012. In addition to being named to the preseason list last season, Doyle was also one of 25 players named when the Mackey Award announced its midseason watch list.
A second-team all-Sun Belt Conference selection in 2011, Doyle led the Hilltoppers in receiving last year, hauling in 52 catches for 614 yards. He averaged 11.8 yards per catch and 51.2 yards per game a year ago, and his 52 receptions rank fifth on WKU's single-season list.
Doyle eclipsed 100 yards receiving three times last season - the first three 100-yard games of his career. He posted six catches for 100 years in WKU's first win of the year at Middle Tennessee, and hauled in seven balls for a season-best 106 yards in a win over Louisiana-Lafayette. He closed out the year with six catches for 101 yards in a season-finale victory over Troy. Doyle led WKU in receptions eight times, including a season-best nine grabs at North Texas. In 29 career games, Doyle has caught 109 passes for 1,203 yards - an average of 11.0 yards per reception.
This is not the first preseason recognition for Doyle. He was also selected to the preseason tight end watch list for the College Football Performance Awards, and was a first-team preseason all-Sun Belt Conference selection by both Phil Steele's College Football Preview and Blue Ribbon Forecast.
2012 John Mackey Award Preseason Watch List
Alex Bayer, Bowling Green
Ted Bolser, Indiana *
Chase Clement, LSU
Jack Doyle, WKU *
Tyler Eifert, Notre Dame *
Gavin Escobar, San Diego State
Joseph Fauria, UCLA
C.J. Fiedorowicz, Iowa
Brandon Ford, Clemson
Matt Furstenburg, Maryland
Crockett Gillmore, Colorado State
Chris Gragg, Arkansas
Hubie Graham, Pittsburgh
Ryan Griffin, Connecticut *
Chase Harper, Texas State
Garrett Hoskins, Eastern Michigan
Malcolm Johnson, Mississippi State *
Phil Lutzenkirchen, Auburn
Ryan Najvar, Baylor
Ryan Otten, San Jose State
Chris Pantale, Boston College *
Jacob Pedersen, Wisconsin
Mike Ragone, Kansas
Kyler Reed, Nebraska *
Lucus Reed, New Mexico *
Jordan Reed, Florida
Mychal Rivera, Tennessee
Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Washington
Dion Sims, Michigan State
Jake Stoneburner, Ohio State *
Levine Toilolo, Stanford
Michael Williams, Alabama *
Luke Willson, Rice *
* - Denotes student-athletes that also appeared on 2011 Mackey Award preseason watch list.
- WKU -
