Five Thoughts on Jurkovec Coming Back
Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom)
Publisher
Boston College is on the recruiting trail right now, but the Eagles’ biggest commitment just came from a current player. Starting quarterback Phil Jurkovec announced Monday that he will be returning to Chestnut Hill for the 2022 season rather than declaring for the NFL Draft.
His decision has significant implications for the program.
Let’s get into them.
1. This gives Jurkovec a chance at the first round: Back in May, Dane Brugler, an NFL Draft Analyst for The Athletic, had Jurkovec going 15th overall to the Steelers in his way-too-early 2022 NFL Mock Draft. That was pretty ambitious at the time. And it looks that way now, too. But it’s not crazy to say Jurkovec could end up in that spot with a strong 2022.
He has all the tools of a modern first-round quarterback. Even though you can chalk up 2021 as a lost season, he added a “new” wrinkle to his game. Quotation marks are used because it’s really not new. This year, Jurkovec went back to his dual-threat high school days and rushed for 55 or more yards in five of his six regular season games. The exception was Week 2 at UMass, where he suffered a season-threatening fracture to his throwing hand in the first quarter. Jurkovec’s ability to throw and run, make plays outside the pocket but also stand in there and make gritty throws is intriguing.
2. He can prove that he can stay healthy: Of course, Jurkovec won’t go that high in the draft if he can’t show that he can play a full season. He hasn’t done that yet in college. After transferring from Notre Dame, Jurkovec won the starting job at BC and quickly broke out. But, midway through the year, he sustained a shoulder injury at Clemson that affected him for a few weeks. Then, later that season against Louisville, he went down with a non-contact knee injury that kept him out of the finale at Virginia. This season, it was the hand injury. And, ahead of Week 13, he contracted the flu (that was a team-wide problem, though). The point is, he hasn’t been durable. And he takes a lot of hits.
3. His return could incentivize Zay Flowers to come back: A big reason why Jurkovec has enjoyed success at BC is because of his star wide receiver. Flowers ranked 18th nationally in receiving yards in 2020 and came into this year as a Biletnikoff Watch List nominee. He can blow the top off any secondary in the ACC and is balletic in space. Jurkovec developed an impressive rapport with Flowers that returned when Jurkovec got back on the field this season. They help each other. It’s a symbiotic relationship, and they could both boost their draft stock in 2022. But Flowers has been at BC for three years, has produced even without Jurkovec under center (albeit not in the same manner) and could make the leap for the next level. He’s much more likely to stay on the Heights now that Jurkovec is waiting on the league.
4. This helps BC’s Class of 2022 recruiting efforts: Head coach Jeff Hafley and his staff are trying to secure the Eagles’ best recruiting class since Rivals started tracking recruiting data in 2002. BC’s 2022 recruiting class is ranked 22nd nationally right now, which is two spots higher than any Eagles recruiting class in the two-decade-old Rivals database.
Having Jurkovec back for next season helps Hafley accomplish that feat. Suddenly, commits are signing on with a program that can win now. And BC is a place where true freshmen, as evidenced by this season (Jaden Williams, Bryce Steele, CJ Burton, Connor Lytton, etc.) can play immediately. It’s a lot easier to spin this season as a fluke or a one-off when your injured quarterback is actually returning.
5. The Eagles now have more time to figure out the quarterback of the future: Instead of having to turn to the transfer portal for a quick fix or trotting out Emmett Morehead next year, BC gets another season to plan for the future. That said, the Eagles can’t get too comfortable. They can’t afford a repeat of 2021, meaning that they need to have an effective backup plan. Sure, Dennis Grosel didn’t play well this year, however, he wasn’t always put in position to succeed. Play-calling and offensive line performance didn’t help his cause. This offseason, BC needs to give its QB2 significant run and actually have a QB3 by the time the season rolls around. The expectation (but obviously not the hope) should be that Jurkovec will go down at some point. Preparing for that outcome will better serve BC for the seasons to come.
