Film Room: Reviewing Jurkovec's Best and Worst Throws From BC's Opener

Boston College captain Phil Jurkovec had Heisman Trophy odds this offseason. In August, ESPN NFL Draft analyst Todd McShay ranked the former Notre Dame transfer sixth among his 2023 quarterbacks.

Jurkovec entered last week's opener having played 16 games with the Eagles. In six of them, he had thrown for 300 or more yards.

To put that into perspective, there was only one game during Steve Addazio's seven-year head coaching tenure (2013-19) where an Eagles signal caller eclipsed that mark.

Jurkovec is BC's best pro prospect since Matt Ryan, and he has been since he broke onto the scene in 2020 after arriving in Chestnut Hill from the other side of the Holy War.

Last year was supposed to be his year. Then a season-threatening fracture to his throwing hand cost him six games. And, although he returned for the final four, he wasn't close to healthy toward the end of the year.

So a lot of eyes were on Jurkovec last weekend against Rutgers. How would he perform? Would he be his 2020 self? Perhaps even better?

Jurkovec—who finished 23-of-41 with 283 passing yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions—didn't look like a Heisman candidate. Or even a first-round draft pick. That's not saying he couldn't be either.

But last weekend, he looked like a good college quarterback with a pro skill set who was held back by an inexperienced offensive line.

In Jurkovec's first season as BC's quarterback, he frequently ditched the pocket to make off-platform throws. Yes, he led the nation in passing yards under pressure that year, however, whether he could be a Day One NFL Draft pick was contingent on him developing a better presence in the tackle box. At times, he displayed improvement in that department against the Scarlet Knights. Here, Jurkovec turned a 2nd-and-20 into a 3rd-and-1 by finding Jaelen Gill for a chunk pickup—but only after he went through his progressions. First, he looked right to star wideout Zay Flowers. Then he turned to his left side where running back Pat Garwo III was waiting in the flat. Ultimately, he located Gill crossing over the middle of the field.

This might have been Jurkovec's most pro-ready throw of the day. Jurkovec took a three-step drop and delivered a perfectly-placed ball to tight end George Takacs, who finished the game with seven catches for 84 yards. Jurkovec and Takacs, former Notre Dame teammates and classmates, were humming all afternoon. Here, Takacs attacked the seam, and Jurkovec lifted a pass just over Rutgers linebacker Deion Jennings. A little bit less on the ball, and it could have been picked. A little bit more, and it could have put Takacs in harm's way.

Now, this is vintage Jurkovec. It's all about balance. As much as scouts want to see him harness more of a pocket presence, they also salivate over his ability to make something happen when the play breaks down. Exhibit A: Jurkovec faked the handoff to Garwo, drifted right and, despite having a Scarlet Knight in his face, quick flipped a pass off his back foot to wideout Jaden Williams in stride like a shortstop turning two.

By the way, if you were wondering about Jurkovec's grip strength—and, subsequently, his arm strength—it's back. Just compare these two plays side by side. The first is from Saturday, and the second is from last year's regular season finale against Wake Forest.

The first ball has significantly more velocity and distance. The second one was muscled by Jurkovec, looks flat in the air and didn't even reach Flowers. That said, Jurkovec missed Williams in the first clip, and he had another deep shot—intended for Flowers on a flag route in the opening quarter—that he missed. Some of his attempts were off, others were accurate yet didn't spiral quite right, as he was just 1-of-6 on passes traveling 20-plus yards in the air versus Rutgers, per PFF. Regardless, his velocity and placement, for the most part, were much improved from the end of last season.

OK, back to the "best throws" thread...

Again, you can see the calmness from Jurkovec. He put the right amount of touch on this back shoulder fade for Williams. Even if the Rutgers defensive back didn't trip, this would have been a touchdown. It was a three-step drop and dump for Jurkovec. All three of Jurkovec's TD passes came on intermediate passing routes (10-19 yards). He was 10-of-12 in that depth last weekend, according to PFF.

Another throw that stuck out but could have gone unnoticed was this six-yard pass from Jurkovec to Flowers on 3rd-and-4 in the first quarter. A younger Jurkovec would have tried to drive the ball downfield. Instead, he took what the defense was giving him and let Flowers do his thing in space. Jurkovec stepped up in the pocket to make the throw, too. BC quarterbacks coach Steve Shimko talked about the power of the completion this offseason. Sometimes, the right completion isn't the flashiest. Jurkovec showed that here.

Even though Jurkovec can softly drop the ball into receivers' gloves, he still has moments where he puts too much on his passes. Like here when he overshot Garwo out of the backfield. Jurkovec knew it as soon as the ball left his hand. It soared just above the 5-foot-8 back's reach and fell incomplete. Jurkovec was high on a handful of passes against Rutgers, including one on a 3rd-and-3 intended for Williams—the ensuing Scarlet Knights drive, Greg Schiano's team made its 96-yard, game-winning march to the end zone.

This was Jurkovec's worst pass of the day.

"It was a Cover 2. It was a cloud side," he recalled postgame. "We had a post corner, and I was just greedy trying to fit the ball into the field where there wasn't a hole."

What's more, Jurkovec stared down Flowers the whole way. Christian Braswell saw it coming, lurked and snagged the interception. The thing is, Rutgers cornerback Max Melton might have even been able to make a play on the ball, too. Just a bad decision by Jurkovec.

Williams had to play defense on this pass. Jurkovec was facing pressure from the left side. He slid before firing a pass Williams' way. There was no separation, however, and, if it wasn't for the sophomore wide receiver's makeshift DB skills, that toss could have been picked off as well. In that situation, Jurkovec has to just throw the ball away.

Same thing here. Rather than taking a sack or throwing the ball out of bounds—granted, that would be tough off his back foot with oncoming Scarlet Knights—Jurkovec lofted a pass into the middle of the field. Fortunately for the Eagles, it fell harmlessly incomplete. Jurkovec is asking for a pick with that kind of throw, though. Still, the underlying takeaway from this clip is obviously BC's porous offensive line. Jurkovec had no time here, and he took a mighty good lick as well.

Jurkovec's second interception was the lesser of the two. The redshirt senior quarterback conceded postgame that Rutgers corner Robert Longerbeam simply made a good play on the ball. Longerbeam jumped the hitch route before Jurkovec's pass could reach Flowers. Longerbeam saw it pre-snap and made his move. Maybe, down the road, Jurkovec checks out of that play after seeing man coverage.

Jurkovec was pretty close to reaching the 300-yard passing mark for the seventh time in his BC career last weekend. He made some great throws, leading Flowers into space and establishing a rapport with Takacs.

But, in the second half especially, he was thrown around like a rag doll again. The Eagles' O-Line missed assignments on some plays and committed ineligible receiver downfield penalties on others.

BC's unit up front will have to get things sorted out soon because Jurkovec's best ability is his availability. And he didn't have that most of 2021.