Phil Jurkovec is the latest name on a long list of quarterbacks to come to Notre Dame with sky-high expectations only to see things fail to play out the way both sides probably had once hoped.
Jurkovec entered with the 2018 recruiting class and saw his first game action in the same game Ian Book took over the starting reigns, a blowout victory over Wake Forest in late September of that fall.
But Book’s success mixed with the team success meant playing time was a lot harder to come by than many expected it to be for Jurkovec.
Jurkovec, now Boston College’s starting quarterback and the current ACC leader in passing yards, spoke to the media
“Notre Dame, it was my dream school growing up” Jurkovec said, “There’s a lot of great things about Notre Dame: the school, just how much they win, the culture of it, the players. There’s a lot of good people there. For me, football was really changing. I was debating about switching positions because I don’t think I could have done another year just sitting on the bench. I had to go play somewhere, I was really down.
“I was basically on the brink of not playing quarterback, at that point I was talking to my family and they were like, ‘You have to go somewhere to play’
“I was trying to play something, it’s really tough not being able to play and not being able to showcase what you can do. It grew frustrating to me and I just wanted to get on the field however I could.” – Phil Jurkovec
Jurkovec also added that he still texts with regularly with most of that 2018 Notre Dame recruiting class.
On Tuesday night Notre Dame defensive lineman Ade Ogundeji spoke highly of his former teammate who he’ll face this Saturday, calling Jurkovec a great teammate and great guy before calling him “a play-maker that can make every throw”.
Brian Kelly was also very complimentary of Jurkovec when getting into Boston College week on Monday:
“What he’s doing this year on film is he’s making plays outside the realm of the offense, which he was very accustomed to doing in high school and when he was here as well. Outside the pocket, he’s a great scrambler. He can throw on the run, he’s got a strong arm, great size, and he’s a tough kid.” – Brian Kelly
Jurkovec has led Boston College to a 5-3 record so far this season while throwing for an ACC-best 2,083 yards with 15 touchdown passes and three rushing touchdowns to just four interceptions.
