John Glenn Doyle (born May 5, 1990) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, and played in the NFL for the Indianapolis Colts for nine seasons.
Early life
At Cathedral High School, Doyle was All-State and earned Honorable Mention All-State honors. Doyle was a member of the football team that won the championship in 2006. In his senior year, he caught 21 passes for 400 yards and four touchdowns, and earned an Indianapolis Star Honorable Mention. In addition to football, Doyle played basketball, lettered in rugby and won a state title in 2008.
College career
Western Kentucky was the only Football Bowl Subdivision program to offer Doyle an athletic scholarship. During Doyle's freshman year in 2009, he started 10 games at tight end. Doyle finished with 365 yards on 37 catches with one touchdown. After the season, Doyle was named to Phil Steele's National All-Freshman squad.
Doyle started seven games during as a sophomore. Even though he suffered a season-ending injury, he still caught 20 passes for 224 yards and two touchdowns. During his junior year, Doyle started all 12 games, had 52 receptions for 614 receiving yards, and was named second-team All-Sun Belt.
Doyle, as a senior, had his best season. He started all 13 games, and caught a total of 53 passes for 566 yards and five touchdowns. Because of the stellar season, Doyle was named first-team All-Sun Belt. He was also a semifinalist for the Mackey Award.
During his time at Western Kentucky, Doyle was a three-time captain.
Collegiate statistics
Professional career
On January 26, 2013, Doyle played in the 2013 Senior Bowl as part of the Oakland Raiders' head coach Dennis Allen's North team that lost 21–16 to Detroit Lions' head coach Jim Schwartz' South team. He did not receive an invitation to participate at the NFL Scouting Combine. On February 21, 2013, Doyle held a private pro day and had scouts and team representatives from 20 NFL teams attend. He ran the majority of combine and positional drills, but elected to skip the bench press. Doyle was mentored by former Indianapolis Colts' tight end Ken Dilger in preparation for his pro day. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Doyle was projected to be a seventh round pick or priority undrafted free agent by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked as the 20th best tight end prospect in the draft by DraftScout.com. Doyle went undrafted in the 2013 NFL Draft.
Tennessee Titans
2013
On May 1, 2013, the Tennessee Titans signed Doyle to a three-year, $1.49 million contract as an undrafted free agent. Throughout training camp, Doyle competed to be a backup tight end against Taylor Thompson, Brandon Barden, and Martell Webb. On August 31, 2013, the Tennessee Titans waived Doyle as part as their final roster cuts, but planned to sign him to their practice squad after clearing waivers.
Indianapolis Colts
2013
On September 1, 2013, the Indianapolis Colts claimed Doyle off of waivers and added him to their active roster. Head coach Chuck Pagano named Doyle the fourth tight end on the Colts' depth chart to begin the regular season, behind Dwayne Allen, Coby Fleener, and Dominique Jones.
He made his professional regular season debut in the Indianapolis Colts' 24–20 loss to the Miami Dolphins in Week after Dwayne Allen was placed on injured reserve due to a hip injury he sustained in the season-opener. On October 20, 2013, Doyle caught his first career reception on a seven-yard pass by quarterback Andrew Luck before being tackled by Danny Trevathan during the third quarter of a 39–33 win against the Denver Broncos in Week 7. The following game, he was promoted to being the primary backup on the depth chart behind Coby Fleener and earned his first career start during a 27–25 win at the Houston Texans in Week 9 after the Colts released Dominique Jones. He finished his rookie season in 2013 with five receptions for 19-yards in 15 games and four starts.
The Indianapolis Colts finished the 2013 season first in the AFC South with an 11–5 record. On January 4, 2014, Doyle appeared in his first career playoff game as the Colts defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 45–44 in the AFC Wild Card Round. On January 11, 2014, Doyle started in his first career playoff game and caught one pass for seven-yards during a 43–22 loss at the New England Patriots in the AFC Divisional Round.