Boston College starting quarterback Phil Jurkovec was back in Pittsburgh for winter break when it became official.

Offensive linemen Zion Johnson and Ben Petrula were putting the NFL Draft on hold to return to Chestnut Hill for one final go-around.

“I know we were talking about it before we left, but that was just a big relief,” Jurkovec said Tuesday after spring practice. “Those guys, they’re so experienced, and they're really good up front. Having them back, knowing you’re protected, is just huge for a quarterback.”

Not only are Johnson and Petrula on board for the 2021 season but so are seven other starters from last year’s Eagles team, including Jurkovec. And although the Eagles are losing tight end Hunter Long to the NFL, they have graduate wide receiver Kobay White coming back.

White suffered a season-ending ACL tear ahead of BC’s opener at Duke in 2020. He has piled up 96 catches, including a team-best 29 in 2019, and 1,409 receiving yards in his Eagles career. Jurkovec said he only got to throw with White a bit last year before the veteran wideout went down. Still, Jurkovec knows what his teammate is capable of.

“We have a lot of weapons,” Jurkovec said. “Kobay’s another one. … I’m really excited for him to come back because I know he’s a great playmaker.”

There’s a sense of continuity and familiarity that was absent at this time last year when coaches and players were trying to gel over Zoom in the first year of a new system and staff.

“It’s definitely a different feel going into spring ball this year,” Jurkovec said. “We have our whole offense installed. We’ve got a lot of reps at it. Although we might have little wrinkles in the offense, it’s the same one that we’ve repped throughout the spring and the summer. So there’s a lot more of a comfort level with it.”

Jurkovec starred last year, throwing for 2,558 yards and 17 touchdowns in 10 contests after transferring from Notre Dame and having not started a game since his senior year at Pine-Richland. At times, the sturdy yet mobile 6-foot-5 gunslinger was a magician outside the pocket. Jurkovec threw for the most yards under pressure of any quarterback last year, according to Pro Football Focus, and it wasn’t all that close. He’s aware of that success, however, he knows he needs to improve the technicalities of his game. Jurkovec told reporters “there’s a lot” he wants to work on this spring.

“Really, just sharpening my entire game,” he said. “Making the precision throws, having great footwork, and [being] in time and in rhythm with the throws—how they're supposed to be.”

Jurkovec exited the Eagles’ home finale against Louisville with a left knee injury and ended up missing their last game of the year at Virginia. While on the sideline, he observed the offense from afar and realized how much it had evolved since the start of the season.

“I saw how well our offense works and what it can be,” Jurkovec said. “Seeing it from the sidelines is just a different perspective on it. But I think throughout the year, as it progressed, the offense became more comfortable.”

Unlike last year, BC will have a full slate of practices this spring. Jurkovec feels it’s a time for experimentation and growth. He mentioned that it gives the offense a chance to go through the system step by step.

Second-year offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Frank Cignetti Jr. says Jurkovec is at a completely different place now as opposed to the beginning of spring practice in 2020.

“He knows what to do,” Cignetti said. “When Phil came in here last year, just like the rest of the guys, everything was new to him. The terminology, the actual scheme, the fundamentals and technique. So they were starting over as quarterbacks. Now that they have a year in the system, they understand what to do and how to do it.”