Washington stays in-state to land 4-star OL Gecova Doyal

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After a long recruiting process with offers coming in for three years, the road for Puyallup (Wash.) offensive lineman Gecova Doyal kept him home.

The four-star announced his commitment to hometown Washington on Wednesday on the Rivals‘ Summer Signing Day show.

While he chose the Huskies from four schools, including Oregon, UCLA and Utah, this had really been a Washington-Oregon battle for over a year.

The Ducks were a longtime favorite – their current starting right guard, Dave Iuli, is a Puyallup alum, and both grew up training under the watchful eye of legendary line trainer Faipea Avaava and his son, Tui Avaava.

At various times, the Ducks looked like the destination.

But Washington, under offensive line coach Michael Switzer and assistant offensive line coach Michael Brewster, kept plugging and chipping away with Doyal.

The tide turned once and for all when the Huskies hosted him for the last official visit.

That swung all the momentum to the home team.

And that was largely because of the relationships he had established with the Husky coaches.

“At the end of the day, it came down to the relationships,” said Doyal. “The coaches made me feel like family from the beginning and I trusted the vision they had for me on and off the field. It just felt like home.”

That belief in the coaching staff played a major part in his decision to stay home.

“Washington checked every box for me,” said Doyal. “I believe in the coaching staff, the way they develop offensive linemen and the culture they’re building. I could really see myself being successful there.”

Despite trips all over the country, it was those visits to Washington that always tugged at the heart.

“Every time I left campus, I kept thinking about Washington,” said Doyal. “It was the place I could picture myself the most.”

And staying home, where he gives the Husky three of the top four recruits in-state and five of the top ten, is meaningful and significant to Doyal.

“Being able to stay home and represent my state meant a lot to me,” said Doyal. “Washington gave me everything I was looking for a great education, a chance to compete at a high level and coaches who truly believed in me. That’s what made them the right choice.”

In Doyal, the Huskies land a four-star according to the Rivals Industry Ranking, an equally weighted average that utilizes all three major recruiting services.

Rivals is highest on him in the industry, ranking him as the No. 257 overall player nationally, the No. 17 interior offensive lineman in the country and the No. 4 recruit in the state of Washington in 2027.

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