Phil Jurkovec spoke with Kenny Pickett at the Manning Passing Academy last summer. The quarterbacks had squared off the previous season in a game that went to overtime and ended with a missed Pitt extra point and a 31-30 Boston College victory.
“He’s a great guy,” Jurkovec said of Pickett during a Tuesday ACC Network “Packer and Durham” interview. “But he’s had a ton of success, and it’s worked out for him coming back.”
That’s an understatement. Pickett went from being a potential fifth or sixth-round pick in 2021 to being the top quarterback prospect in the 2022 draft. This season’s ACC Player of the Year, Pickett led Pitt to its first-ever ACC championship while posting a 42:7 touchdown-to-interception ratio, breaking Dan Marino’s passing touchdown record and becoming a Heisman Trophy finalist.
Pickett thought 2020 was going to be his final season, however, it was against Jurkovec that he suffered a Grade 3 high ankle sprain, as well as Grade 2 sprains on the inside and outside of his lower ankle. He had surgery and returned to the field in 26 days to finish out the season. As reported in a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette story, though, Pickett called playing through the pain in the back half of the 2020 season “terrible.”
He came back for a healthy 2021 so he could help Pitt contend for an ACC title and his draft stock improve. Jurkovec wants to do the same thing for BC in 2022. The former Notre Dame transfer fractured his throwing hand in Week 2 of this year at UMass. Like Pickett last year, Jurkvoec beat the expected recovery time and came back for the home stretch. And, similarly, his return was filled with highs and lows.
Jurkovec’s grip strength was at 50% when he got back under center, and it didn’t help that his offensive line was underperforming. What was supposed to be his final year as an Eagle turned into a false alarm. Jurkovec instead followed in Pickett’s footsteps and announced his return for 2022 Monday morning.
“I was talking with my family and the coaches,” Jurkovec said. “They all gave great advice. And it was pretty clear that I didn’t get a full year, and I have a lot of progress to make still.
“I feel like I’ve progressed since I’ve been here, but a whole ’nother year would be great for my development.”
Jurkovec broke out in 2020. He hadn’t started a game since his senior season at Pine-Richland. After sitting behind Ian Book for two years, Jurkovec made the move to BC and immediately found success in offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr.’s pro-style system. Jurkovec threw for 2,558 yards and 17 touchdowns last year, putting the ACC on notice in the first year of the Jeff Hafley era.
He was expected to take the next big step forward this season. Of course, his season-threatening hand fracture spoiled that progression.
Even so, Jurkovec finished the year 15-of-33 on passes traveling 20 or more yards downfield, according to Pro Football Focus. He also ran for 50 or more yards in the five complete games he played, re-establishing himself as the dual-threat signal caller he was in high school.
Jurkovec makes BC’s offense much less predictable. He can throw the ball over the top, keep it on designed quarterback runs and make something out of nothing outside the pocket.
But he sees significant room for growth.
“It’s a mixture of film work and on the field work,” Jurkovec said. “Specifically for me and our offense, I’m excited for this offseason. The ability to work with the receivers. I think we’re gonna have a really detailed offseason and really try to work on the routes and our connections so we can grow the passing game.”
Toward the end of his Tuesday “Packer and Durham” interview, Jurkovec was asked if he had glanced at the Eagles’ 2022 schedule yet.
“I have,” he said. “And an important game on that is Notre Dame. It’s an exciting one. To be able to go back to Notre Dame and play on that field.”
And, who knows, maybe by then, like Pickett, Jurkovec will be vying for a program-defining ACC championship, too.
