What Is Boston College Getting In Quarterback Phil Jurkovec?
To get an insider's scouting report on new Boston College quarterback Phil Jurkovec we talked with Bryan Driskell of Irish Maven, SI's Notre Dame site. Check out Irish Maven for more Notre Dame opinions and news, and follow Bryan on Twitter.
AJ Black: Phil Jurkovec came to ND as a highly sought after recruit out of high school what were parts of his game that caught your eye?
Bryan Driskell: There were a number of traits that resulted in me giving Jurkovec a five-star grade coming out of high school, and why I wrote that he should get a chance to play this season when Ian Book was struggling.
First of all, Jurkovec has an elite combination of arm strength and running ability. His right arm in powerful, which he showed on his first pass of the 2019 season when he hit speedster Braden Lenzy in stride for a 52-yard completion on a post route. But it’s not just distance that makes his arm strong, Jurkovec can also make a lot of the “tough” throws few quarterbacks can make. We saw it in high school and we saw it in his very limited snaps this season at Notre Dame.
Jurkovec was a playmaker with his arm in high school, completing 68.4-percent of his passes for 8,202 yards and 71 touchdowns while getting picked off just 12 times.
He’s not an explosive athlete, but he’s smooth, fluid and a natural runner. He has a feel for finding creases as a runner, and when a play breaks down he’s very dangerous. He had two high school seasons with over 1,200 rushing yards, and he scored 43 touchdowns on the ground despite missing all but five games of his junior season with a hand injury.
Jurkovec is the kind of quarterback that elevates everyone around him. He did that in high school, leading Gibsonia (Pa.) Pine-Richland to its first-ever state championship on the gridiron. A 1,000-point scorer in basketball, Jurkovec also led the Rams to the state title game as a junior and the semi-finals as a senior.
Black: What did Brian Kelly and his staff see in his game?
Driskell: The current offensive staff didn’t recruit Jurkovec, and that’s part of the problem. The current offensive staff wants a guy that is more of a pure drop-back thrower, and that’s not Jurkovec. The previous coaches - led by current Cincinnati offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock - saw a winner with tremendous tools.
With Jurkovec it’s about taking those raw tools and harnessing him. He is not the typical big-time quarterback that had a private quarterbacks coach and spent his whole career going from camp to camp. Jurkovec was a multi-sport player that had offers to play basketball in college. If the coaching staff at Boston College is willing to make developing him a priority he’ll have a chance to be outstanding.
Black: Any limitations or areas of growth in his playing style?
Driskell: When he got to Notre Dame they tweaked his throwing motion and it messed him up mechanically and mentally. The staff at Boston College needs to get him back to being comfortable as a thrower, which is part mechanical and part mental. When he’s not confident and starts thinking too much he aims the ball, loses power and is late with his reads. When he’s confident and just let’s it rip he can make any throw on the field.
Being able to get back to a place where he’s comfortable and confident throwing the ball will go a very long way towards determining if Jurkovec is just a solid college quarterback, or if he’s the kind of quarterback that can put the Eagles on his shoulders and lead them to 10 wins.
Like most young quarterbacks, Jurkovec sometimes locks into a read before the snap and will force a ball. His timing in the spring wasn’t where it needed to be, so working through progressions better and showing better anticipation as a passer will be key for Jurkovec.
Jurkovec also has to continue learning what it means to be a college quarterback from a day-to-day basis. He always did things so naturally that he doesn’t quite yet understand what it means to put in the work necessary to be elite from a film preparation standpoint and from a passing work standpoint. If the BC staff is wiling to set a standard for him, be clear with what he needs to do, he’ll do it and he’ll thrive.
Black: What kind of offense do you think Phil Jurkovec will succeed in?
Driskell: He needs to be in an offense that builds around his powerful arm and his running ability. He’s not a running quarterback in the traditional sense (he isn’t a Jalen Hurts type of runner), and he’s also not a pure drop back quarterback. He needs to have structure, but he also needs to be allowed to freelance a bit as well. When the offense is built around his run-throw traits he’ll get comfortable and thrive.
If the offense is overly structured and demands he just sit back in the pocket and pick teams apart he’ll do okay, but that will limit him impact ability. If the BC staff is willing to tailor the offense to his playmaking traits he’ll not only perform well, but he’ll make everyone around him better.
Black: What NFL or NCAA QB past or present would you compare him to?
Driskell: There really isn’t one. He has certain traits from different players. His running ability reminds me a lot of former Irish quarterback DeShone Kizer. He’s not a burner, but he can make plays with his legs. Jurkovec, however, is a more natural pure runner than Kizer and he’s probably a step faster as well. When Jurkovec is allowed to use his legs he’s at his best.
As a thrower, I’ll go with Paxton Lynch when he was at Memphis, although I think Jurkovec has a bit more power. Lynch was very long and he could throw on the run effectively. That’s Jurkovec. He can power the ball deep, he can attack the middle of the field and he can make the hard sideline throws.
Black: What do you see as his ceiling as a player?
Driskell: Jurkovec needs to put in the work to clean up his game and the BC staff needs to commit to developing him. If they do that he’s the kind of player that can put a program on his shoulders and make them better than they are. He’s not always going to look pretty doing it, but he’s a premium playmaker. If the coaches at BC are willing to let him be himself and build around who he is, instead of trying to fit him into a system that tries to limit his ability to freelance, he could end up being a star.
He’ll need a year to get experience, but if the BC coaches truly commit to Jurkovec he’ll have a chance to be a truly dynamic ACC quarterback that can get them over the 7-win hump and get them to the 10-win mark.
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