Phil Jurkovec visited Boston College this weekend and took a plane ride home Saturday evening. He’ll be back at Boston College in a few days to start classes at his new school.

Jurkovec, a former Pine-Richland High School star quarterback who decided earlier this week not to return to Notre Dame, has decided to transfer to Boston College.

Jurkovec spent two seasons at Notre Dame, but played sparingly and decided not to return to the team. He entered the NCAA transfer portal earlier this week. That allowed coaches from other colleges to contact him.

Jurkovec acted quickly on his transfer because he wanted to be at his new school for the spring semester. He and his father, Jim, visited Boston College this weekend.

“It’s a good fit,” Jim Jurkovec said.

Phil Jurkovec will be at Boston College for the spring semester. Under NCAA transfer rules, he would have to sit out the 2020 season, but his father said he will apply for a waiver from the NCAA, which would allow him to play this season.

After deciding to leave Notre Dame, Jurkovec was looking for a quarterback situation that would allow him to come to a new school and possibly play right away. And finding a coach with some kind of ties to the NFL would be an added bonus. Jurkovec found both at Boston College.

Boston College recently hired Jeff Hafley as its new coach. Hafley spent this season as co-defensive coordinator at Ohio State. Hafley also was an assistant coach at Pitt for a few years under Dave Wannstedt, but he has extensive experience at the NFL level. Before coming to Ohio State, he spent seven seasons as an assistant in the NFL, including three years with the San Francisco 49ers.

Hafley also hired Frank Cignetti Jr. recently as his offensive coordinator. Cignetti is another former Pitt assistant who spent time in the NFL as quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator.

Boston College’s quarterback position also looks open. Anthony Brown was the starter in 2019, but suffered a season-ending knee injury in October. It was his second knee injury in three years and Brown entered the NCAA transfer portal in December. Brown would be a fifth-year senior. Dennis Grosel took over for Brown last season. Grosel is a former walk-on who only earned a scholarship before the 2019 season.

Mike White: mwhite@post-gazette.com and Twitter @mwhiteburgh

First Published: January 11, 2020, 10:38 p.m.
Updated: January 11, 2020, 10:39 p.m.