Phil Jurkovec was somewhat of a movie star before he ever took a snap on the Pine-Richland High School varsity team. Back in 2014, a highlight film of Jurkovec playing on the school’s ninth-grade team generated more than 11,000 views on YouTube.
Over the next three years, Jurkovec started on the varsity and became an even bigger movie star. He was the Human Highlight Film.
Now, with Jurkovec’s high school career complete, the reviews are coming in. And some critics are suggesting that if a movie was made on the best quarterbacks in Western Pennsylvania history, Jurkovec would be one of the headliners.
Jurkovec, a 6-foot-5, 215-pound senior at Pine-Richland, finished his career at Pine-Richland a week ago and it’s not an overstatement to say he already is a schoolboy legend. He is the Post-Gazette Player of the Year and left an everlasting mark on the WPIAL.
“He probably is the best quarterback I’ve seen in high school,” said former North Hills coach Jack McCurry, who watched Jurkovec three times in person this season and on television a few times.
That’s an interesting comment from McCurry, because he coached North Hills from 1978-2012 and one of the quarterbacks he faced was Dan Marino at Central Catholic.
“Marino certainly could throw and Marino could run, but not run like this kid,” said McCurry. “I’m certainly not saying that this kid will do what Marino did in college or the pros. We have to wait to see. I’m just saying in high school, I haven’t seen anyone do what this kid has done.”
Joe Butler has run Metro Index Scouting in Pittsburgh for four decades.
“Phil Jurkovec is unique in that he’s about 6-5, has really big hands to grab a football, and he’s not just an athlete who happened to play quarterback. He’s a quarterback who’s an athlete,” said Butler. “He throws the ball down the seams as well as any college quarterback. … Marino was something. I don’t like to go totally out on a limb, but I think [Jurkovec] is one of the finest we’ve ever had around here.”
You could say Jurkovec had the finest season of any offensive player in the history of Pennsylvania high school football, at least statistically. Consider:
*Jurkovec set a state record for single-season offensive yardage (passing, throwing, receiving) with 5,180. He completed 243 of 334 for 3,969 yards and 39 touchdowns, and rushed for 1,211 yards on 132 attempts and scored 24 touchdowns for the WPIAL and PIAA Class 6A champ.
*The 3,969 passing yards are the third-most in a single season in WPIAL history and he completed 73 percent.
*Jurkovec became only the second quarterback in WPIAL history to throw for 3,000 yards and rush for 1,000 in a season.
And for Jurkovec’s career:
*He had 11,144 yards, second-best in WPIAL history to Sto-Rox’s Lenny Williams. Jurkovec compiled his yardage in only 2 ½ seasons. He missed half of his sophomore year with a thumb injury.
*Jurkovec completed 523 of 765 for 8,202 yards (fourth-most in WPIAL history) and 71 touchdowns. He also ran for 2,942 yards on 344 carries.
The player Jurkovec often is compared to is former Terrelle Pryor, a 2008 Jeannette graduate. Jeannette coach Roy Hall was an assistant at Jeannette during Pryor’s years and watched Jurkovec a few times on television.
“I might be a little partial because I coached Terrelle,” said Hal. “I think Jurkovec might have the edge as far as passing. But with moves, running and speed, I’d go with Terrelle. But I think Jurkovec is one of the best quarterbacks in years.”
Jurkovec will play next season at Notre Dame. He leaves behind a legacy at Pine-Richland.
“Phil is everything you’d want in a quarterback,” said Pine-Richland coach Eric Kasperowicz. “More importantly, he has all the intangibles that separate averages quarterbacks from elite ones. … I’m honored to have been his football coach.”
First Published: December 17, 2017, 2:00 p.m.
