Phil Jurkovec will be 24 years old when his college football career comes to a close at the end of this season. His last six years have been quite the journey.
Jurkovec was a four-star prospect in the recruiting Class of 2018 after totaling 11,144 total yards, 8,202 passing yards and 71 touchdowns passes during his high school career. The sky was the limit for the Pittsburgh-native, who played in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl as a senior.
After committing to Notre Dame, Jurkovec attempted just 16 passes in eight games played over two years. And then he hit the transfer portal.
The 6-foot-5, 235-pound dual-threat signal-caller landed at Boston College and lit it up during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. Jurkovec looked like a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate while throwing for 2,558 yards and 17 touchdowns en route to a 6-4 record.
He was special. Especially when throwing to Zay Flowers.
Unfortunately, injuries limited to Jurkovec to just 14 games in 2021 and 2022. His numbers weren’t great and he never quite looked the same.
With a graduate year at his disposal, Jurkovec chose to transfer back home to play for Pitt in 2023, which is his sixth and final year of eligibility. He won the starting job but things did not go well.
Jurkovec completed just 50.9% of his passes for 818 yards with six touchdowns and three interceptions in five games as the starter. The Panthers went 1-4 to begin the year.
It was announced earlier this week that Jurkovec was demoted to the third-string as a result of his poor play. A few days later, as Pitt heads into a bye week, Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that the former starting quarterback will no longer play quarterback.
Jurkovec decided to switch positions with seven games left in his college career with hopes of extending his football career. He was running routes with the tight ends during Thursday’s practice.
Starting tight end Gavin Bartholomew is the Panthers’ leading receiver with just 12 catches for 258 yards. It is possible that Jurkovec, a quarterback, could finish with just as many or more catches than Bartholomew at this rate.
Credit to Jurkovec for the self-awareness, self-worth and determination. However, it is a real shame that he could never rediscover the magic from 2020 because that season was a lot of fun.