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Phil Jurkovec’s debut in Pitt football’s 45-7 blowout over Wofford set the tone for the Panthers’ offense to be quarterbacked by a significantly different style of player from its 2022 season. Last year, Kedon Slovis finished the season with just 10 passing touchdowns and nine interceptions, without a single rushing touchdown to his name.
Jurkovec finished Saturday’s game with 17 completions on 23 passes for 214 yards and a touchdown, and he was pulled early in the second half when the Panthers were up 35-0 and wanted to get a look at backup Christian Veilleux.
While the win was over a small FCS Wofford team, what Jurkovec put on tape was still an example of his potential that wasn’t seen from Slovis, even when he faced similar talent last season, like Rhode Island.
Here’s an example of one way Jurkovec differed from Slovis, in a simple timing read throw down the middle of a Cover 2 defense. Jurkovec dropped back from Wofford’s 21-yard line and fired a 18-yard pass right down the seam as Pitt receiver Konata Mumpfield broke on his option route to the middle part of the field:
That throw was the product of an option route where Mumpfield had two options to break toward the sideline or to the middle part of the field. The throw has to be underneath the safety but over the linebacker for the play to work, and both the receiver and quarterback have to make the same read of what the defense is doing so they can be in sync.
“I have a two-way go [on that play],” Mumpfield explained. “We worked that a lot in practice. If it’s Cover 2, I take the middle. If it’s man [coverage] and one high [safety], I can go ahead and take the corner [route]. I saw that the safeties [were separating], and my eyes got wide open, and I was thinking touchdown. Made my break, and it was a simple good completion.”
Though Jurkovec would say after the game he could’ve thrown a better pass, the play was a show of trust, experience and timing between him and Mumpfield — and the two only started working together when Jurkovec transferred to Pitt last winter.
That same trust wasn’t on display that often between Slovis and Pitt’s receivers in 2022. Even on some of his better throws, Slovis would wait longer than needed to launch his passes to open receivers. An example was his 26-yard strike to Jaden Bradley — who has also since transferred from Pitt — in the final minutes against Georgia Tech.
Bradley’s route broke open quickly against the Yellow Jackets’ zone defense, and he was wide open for a score just 6 yards into his go pattern. Even though Slovis did eventually get the ball there, his hesitance was noticeable to the point one of his injured teammates sitting in Pitt’s box could be heard in the press box screaming, “He’s open! Just throw him the ball!”
Jurkovec does not look hesitant in his early play. He completed multiple passes into tighter coverage downfield in ways that showed he trusted his teammates to make a play. His 28-yard completion to tight end Gavin Bartholomew was another example of that, when Bartholomew broke against another Cover 2 scheme and Jurkovec targeted his back shoulder between two defenders for a big gain:
“He went up and got it,” Jurkovec said of Bartholomew’s effort. “Knowing we can make that play will open up a lot. He caught it cleanly, and we’ve worked that a lot [in practice], but it was really nice to see that happen in the game.”
These are throws that weren’t seen much in Frank Cignetti Jr.’s offense last season. Most of Slovis’ targets downfield in 2022 were to wide-open receivers. While it’s good to be able to get it to open receivers, it’s also important to give your playmakers chances to win one-on-one battles even in tight coverage. Jurkovec showing his trust is a good sign for the season.
But maybe an even bigger difference between the two quarterbacks was Jurkovec’s mobility. In his first game, he gained 53 rushing yards, already passing up Slovis’ total of 50 rushing yards gained all last season.
A good chunk of those yards came on Pitt’s second touchdown of the game, when Jurkovec took a quarterback read-option for a house call and went untouched into the end zone. Though he wasn’t blazing with speed, you could see his ability to make plays with his feet will be a featured part of Pitt’s offense this season and add an extra layer that defenses must account for:
Pat Narduzzi did make note after the game that he felt Jurkovec ran a few too many times during the game, but that’s the energy Pitt wants to see from its quarterback when it’s time to make a play. Another factor of Jurkovec’s mobility is his ability to extend plays by breaking the pocket.
His first touchdown pass of the season came in the red zone when Wofford got pressure in Jurkovec’s face off the right side. Jurkovec didn’t like what he saw initially from Pitt’s tight ends, but he found his target when he broke to his right and threw across his body to Karter Johnson to make the game 35-0 in the third quarter:
Throwing across your body isn’t always advised, but the fact Jurkovec can do it is another sign of how different of a quarterback he can be in 2023. And again, that play is another example of his trust in his players, including Johnson — a former defensive tackle who converted to tight end just last season — who had never scored a touchdown in his collegiate career.
Jurkovec will need to display these traits against FBS opponents this season before he can truly build a full resume as a starting quarterback who makes a difference. But his play Saturday displayed the traits you wanted to see from the new Panthers quarterback to start the season.
Christopher Carter: ccarter@post-gazette.com and on Twitter @CarterCritiques
First Published: September 4, 2023, 2:45 p.m.
Updated: September 4, 2023, 6:43 p.m.