CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Two years ago, Kenny Pickett suffered an injury that derailed an early departure for the NFL. He returned later in the 2020 season with a surgically repaired ankle, but Pickett wasn’t the same. He opted to come back for one more year to stay healthy and prove he was one of the best quarterbacks in the country.
Phil Jurkovec knows Pickett’s pain. The former Pine-Richland standout — who beat Pickett the night of his injury in 2020 — suffered a similar fate last season.
Jurkovec went down on the opening possession of Boston College’s second game of the 2021 campaign. An awkward fall led to an injured wrist and what ended up being a lost season. Jurkovec returned for the final four games of the season but was a lesser version of himself. Now, he’s hoping to do what Pickett did last year.
“I want to have a statement year,” Jurkovec said Wednesday at the ACC Kickoff. “I think I’ve proven that I can play. I’ve made plays. I’ve got what it takes to play at the next level. ... I felt like I was robbed last year. Even though I played at the end, I didn’t feel like myself. I’m really hoping I can stay injury-free this year and see what we can do.”
If Jurkovec stays healthy and plays well during his fifth (and likely final) collegiate season, it will be a special end to a long and winding road.
Jurkovec was a four-star, top-100 prospect coming out of Pine-Richland in 2018. After leading Pine-Richland to an undefeated record and 2017 PIAA title, the high school all-American chose Notre Dame as his next stop. But things never clicked in South Bend.
Jurkovec transferred to Boston College in 2020 to learn from a pair of former Pitt assistants. Boston College head coach Jeff Hafley was a defensive backs coach on Dave Wannstedt’s staff from 2006-10. Offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr. got his start with the Panthers as a graduate assistant in 1989 before calling plays for Wannstedt in 2009 and 2010.
Jurkovec found instant success. During an 11-game, COVID-shortened season, the 6-foot-5 signal-caller threw for 2,558 yards and 17 touchdowns to only five interceptions. He credits Cignetti with helping him move on from his time at Notre Dame.
“Coach Cig revived my career and opened my eyes to the game,” Jurkovec said. “I was struggling. I was regressing. Coach Cignetti, after meeting with him, watching the film and learning about his experiences, I started seeing the NFL game differently, you know? I really understood it. It was completely different. I’m so thankful for Coach Cig.”
Jurkovec was disappointed when Cignetti left Boston College in January to take the same job at Pitt, but he understood the move “because that’s home for him.”
Hafley hired John McNulty, most recently Notre Dame’s tight ends coach (after Jurkovec left), to replace Cignetti as Boston College’s offensive coordinator. Jurkovec is confident in McNulty’s system and the pieces around him. Zay Flowers, one of the top wide receivers in the country who was reportedly courted with lucrative monetary deals from other schools, will be Jurkovec’s top target.
Jurkovec is happy Flowers resisted the temptation to leave. He’s also pleased with the progress he’s made personally ahead of the 2022 season. Hafley sees Jurkovec as an older, more confident quarterback who learned from his extended injury absence.
“In life, when you go through things that are hard and you overcome them, that helps a lot,” Hafley said. “You have to go through things to find out who you are. Some people break, and some get through it. He got through it, and he’s stronger for it.”
NFL draft evaluators have taken notice. Alabama’s Bryce Young and Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud are the obvious top prospects for the 2023 draft. But behind them, there are a dozen or so quarterbacks who could shoot up draft boards with a breakout season. Jurkovec is part of that group. And yet, Hafley knows Jurkovec has to stay healthy in order to fulfill his potential.
“Playing that position is about experience. ... He played one year, then he played one game last year healthy, then he played a few games injured,” Hafley said. “He’s a damn good player. But if he gets another year of experience, he’ll be that much more ready for when it’s his time to play (in the NFL).”
The former Pine-Richland star is banking on it.
“I think it would be a great sendoff,” Jurkovec said. “It would be full circle. Going to Notre Dame, it not working out, transferring and now having the chance to play them late in the year (in South Bend on Nov. 19). We’ve got a great schedule, ... and we have all the pieces necessary.”
Johnny McGonigal: jmcgonigal@post-gazette.com and Twitter @jmcgonigal9
First Published: July 20, 2022, 8:58 p.m.