There is not a more important position in any sport than that of quarterback. Great ones are rare. They lift teams around them and hide a litany of shortcomings. Bad ones destroy seasons and careers. Anything else is almost worse, stuck in some sort of purgatory unable to win significant games or acquire premium draft capital to add talent to the roster. Phil Jurkovec is going to be one of the more debated quarterback prospects to watch this fall. Much is subject to change, but here is my initial scouting report of Phil Jurkovec.
Boston College has been a competitive team with Jurkovec at the helm, and a dismal one without him. The returning fifth-year senior will look to show he is fully recovered from a significant injury to his throwing hand suffered in 2021 and cement himself as one of the best quarterbacks in the country ahead of the 2023 NFL draft.
Jurkovec started his career at Notre Dame, going 6-14 in limited action across two seasons before transferring to Boston College. In his first season as a starter he was able to pass for 2,558 yards and 17 touchdowns, and just 5 interceptions. He compiled 914 yards and 7 touchdowns in a shortened 2021 season.
I watched several full games (Notre Dame ’20, North Carolina ’20, Virginia Tech ’21, Georgia Tech ’21) and fragments of others to gauge where Phil Jurkovec is as a quarterback prospect for this initial scouting report.
At A Glance
Phil Jurkovec possesses a fantastic combination of size, athleticism, and arm talent. At 6’5″, 226 pounds he looks the part. Boston College regularly took advantage of his mobility, and he has recorded eight rushing touchdowns to date. His arm is capable of making every throw asked.
Boston College has prepared Jurkovec well with a pro-style offense. There should not be a steep learning curve at the next level. Run-pass option plays are a staple, leading to quick decisions. Despite that, Jurkovec is incredibly aggressive with the football and often tests defenses deep.
Wins and losses are generally an unfair metric to judge quarterbacks by. However, Boston College is 2-6 without Jurkovec, and 10-6 with him. His inconsistent play and stats following a return late last season must be shown to be behind him this fall.
Phil Jurkovec Scouting Report
Strengths
- Pocket mobility
- Dangerous runner
- Smart under pressure
- Excellent velocity and arm strength
- Aggressive
Weaknesses
- Experience
- Decision making
- Lower body mechanics
- Recognition
Overall Summary
Phil Jurkovec is a mobile, big-armed quarterback prospect who has a skill set perfect for the modern NFL. He routinely evades pressure and maintains his balance through contact to extend plays. He is a dangerous runner, by design or improvisation.
I’m not sure he’s ever seen a window that he thought was too small for him to fit a pass in. I listed aggressive as a strength of his, because it is. He plays with a gunslinger mentality. His velocity allows him to attack congested areas and his arm is more than capable of throws deep and to the sidelines.
Accuracy is inconsistent at times, in large part due to poor mechanics in his lower half. He willingly throws without setting his feet, off his back foot, and without generating torque with his hips, relying on his arm. When these issues are not present, he is very accurate.
Decision making is an area that must improve throughout the 2022 season. When under duress, he does a solid job of finding the hot route or getting rid of the football if he is unable to use his legs. His poor decisions come when he has too much time and tries to force passes into double, or triple, coverage. Lack of experience shows in struggles to recognize disguised coverages and delayed drops. Several turnovers were a direct result of Jurkovec not being able to diagnose coverage.
Current Evaluation and Projection
While some of the turnovers and paltry completion percentage are bound to drop Jurkovec in the eyes of some, I am very much in on him as a franchise-altering quarterback prospect. I believe he would have had a much different season had he not suffered the injury. Returning to Boston College was absolutely the right choice, but his combination of talent and athleticism likely would have still resulted in a day two selection in the 2022 draft.
I expect Jurkovec to be one of the most productive and cerebral players in the nation this fall. Another year of maturity and experience should do wonders for his comfort and decision making, as well as recognition. I absolutely expect him to play himself into most observers top three, and perhaps even top two, quarterbacks in the 2023 draft. If he plays the way I anticipate, and stays healthy, I anticipate placing a top 20 grade on him when I present my final scouting report.
As far as teams who may be looking for a new quarterback in the 2023 NFL draft that make sense for Jurkovec, there are several. The Vikings, Dolphins, Saints and Commanders all make sense as potential landing spots depending on how their current quarterbacks perform this fall.