Coach: Phil Jurkovec Has Tremendous Upside
ATLANTA, Ga. — Phil Jurkovec might have felt a little bit out of place this past weekend when he threw alongside the nation's top high school juniors at the Rivals Five-Star Challenge Presented by Under Armour, but just because the 2018 quarterback and prized Notre Dame commit struggled at times inside the Georgia Dome doesn’t mean that he won't be elite one day.
In fact it's the opposite.
Former Notre Dame offensive coordinator Peter Vaas worked with Jurkovec for over eight hours on Saturday and when he walked off the field he had nothing but good things to say when asked about the Rivals100 talent.
“I think Phil is a very good prospect," Vaas said.
"The one thing that you notice when you’re talking to him is that he’s got a bright-eyed look in his eye and he’s inquisitive. He asks good questions. He pays attention to the little things that you coach him with, and he has a tremendous upside.”
That celling was one display throughout the camp.
“The interesting thing about watching him on seven-on-seven’s and stuff, you see him as a much more drop back guy, and this is going to almost sounds like I have tunnel vision, but as I watch him, he’s built like how former Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn was built. He’s not built like Brandon Wimbush, whom we had in these camps a couple of years ago," Vaas said.
“He’s a lot different quarterback than Brandon Wimbush and a Malik Zaire. Brandon is more athletic. Phil looks to be much more of a pocket passer that can run the ball rather than just an athlete that’s playing quarterback."
The Jurkovec-Quinn comparison might appear to be one that's out there, but Vaas, who coached Quinn at Notre Dame, has a point, to a degree. The 6-5, 190-pound Jurkovec is an inch taller and 15 pounds lighter than Quinn when he was coming out of Dublin High in Ohio back in 2003. He also has the ability to make deep throws and move the chains with his legs which he proved this past season at Gibsonia (Pa.) Pine-Richland when he accounted for 3,810 yards of offense and 31 total touchdowns.
"I'm not saying he's the next Quinn, but he looks a lot like him," Vaas said.
Not bad for a quarterback that wasn't the best in Atlanta.