Boston College Athletics
Frank Cignetti's Reinvention of the Boston College Offense
October 07, 2020 | Football, #ForBoston Files
Matchmaker, matchmaker, make a perfect...QB-coach combo?
There was a moment last week when quarterback Phil Jurkovec didn't look like a player with three games' experience. He faded back to pass at North Carolina's 25 yard line and flushed to his right as the pocket collapsed around him. He called out signals to his receivers while he scrambled, and he kept his vision downfield as he neared the sideline.
At that moment, a linebacker flew at him with full force and grabbed his jersey for a sack, but Jurkovec spun and wheeled to his left. He moved away from the intended tackle and barely turned his body back towards the sideline as he delivered a flat-footed throw towards his target. The tight spiral flew 50 yards in the air and landed softly into the awaiting hands of tight end Hunter Long.Â
A penalty flag ultimately negated the score, but the moment highlighted Jurkovec's ability to blur design with improvisation. He slowed the play down by speeding up and boiled his instincts into the play. He spun and scrambled while keeping his wits and vision.Â
It would have been the perfect play if the flag didn't unravel the score, but it illustrated exactly what offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti saw when he merged his offensive mind with the new quarterback of the Eagles.
"(Phil's) done a really nice job," head coach Jeff Hafley said. "I think you see the progress from the first game to the third game. (It's a) totally new system for him. He'd never had a play under center. I know the pass game is a lot different than he's used to. He's gaining confidence, and I think that's the one thing. I think the more confidence we get him, the better he'll be, and I think that's going to take some time."
Jurkovec's arrival at Boston College is well-known and well-hyped after the former four-star recruit transferred from Notre Dame, and his first three starts reinforced why the Eagles sought his talent. Last week, he completed 37-of-56 passes for 313 yards and two touchdowns, the most completions by a BC quarterback at Alumni Stadium and tied for the second-most completions in program history. He attempted the most passes at home by a BC quarterback in the last 25 yards.
He became the first Eagle to throw for 300 yards in multiple games in a season since 2012, and he did so while completing 75 percent of his second half throws for nearly 500 yards and four touchdowns. In the fourth quarter alone this year, he completed 73 percent of his throws for 234 yards and two scores, both of which came in the last two minutes while trailing.
"Every week is different, but we're just building it week-by-week," Jurkovec said. "We're progressing, everyone in the offense, and I can see us getting better (every week)."
"I just think to come out, play, and be confident, be fast, and be aggressive," Hafley said, "(and) then I think you're going to see some leadership from him. You see him late in the game, (and) he turns into this different guy with these laser-focused eyes. It's like, 'okay man, this guy is going to go get it done.' I think you'll just see the development the more he plays the game."
Fostering that development is where Cignetti's reputation truly excels. The former quarterbacks coach of the Green Bay Packers and New York Giants helped lead Aaron Rodgers and Eli Manning to 4,000-yard seasons at the National Football League, and his decade-long tenure in the NFL included two different reimagings of the St. Louis Rams after season-ending injuries to Sam Bradford.
In 2013, Cignetti mentored Kellen Clemens to career highs in passing yards, touchdown passes and completions after Bradford went down in the midseason. The next year, he did it again with both Austin Davis and Shaun Hill after a rehabbing Bradford suffered another season-ending injury during the preseason. The year after that, he completely reinvented the offense around the running game, and Todd Gurley's 1,100-yard season helped the Rams to the No. 7 rushing attack in the league.
That malleability was exactly what Hafley wanted to bring to the run-heavy offense in Chestnut Hill. He had an aspiration for BC but needed to install the correct offense to offset his defensive vision, a similar goal as what Rutgers achieved in 2011 when it won nine games with Hafley coaching on the defense opposite Cignetti's offensive stewardship.
"I trust Frank and the offensive staff," Hafley said, "so I don't really go in there to mettle with them. I don't walk in with a great play and tell them that they have to run it. If it doesn't fit their system, then that's their system.
"We have a really good relationship," he continued. "We talk every Monday night, and I'll give him my thoughts on how I think we should win this (upcoming) game, whether that means bringing the clock down to limit possessions or going fast. I'll tell him how many points I think we might need, and I'll tell him what we have to get done."
It completely reinvented the BC offense around Jurkovec and created the full experience of Cignetti's offense within Hafley's system. It's a complete package for the quarterback, along with the other positions, and has him in the right spot to excel on both a physical and emotional level.
"He's helped me a ton," Jurkovec said. "He's flipped football for me and made it fun again. He made it the way it's supposed to be. The whole coaching staff's done that. They let us play free. Coach Hafley and Coach Cignetti understand that there are different styles of quarterbacking, that you can't box someone into a certain style of what you want them to be. Everyone is going to be a little bit different.
"I'm not a quarterbacks coach and not an offensive coach," Hafley admitted. "Everyone knows that. Coach Cignetti led the charge when it came to video and how we would use it to develop and train (Phil). That's one of the reasons why we wanted to hire him. He's one of the best quarterback coaches in all of football, college or the NFL. Frank sold him on that. With me, I wanted him to know who I was, and I let him and his family know that I would care about him as a person, that I would be there for (everyone), and that was my part.
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At that moment, a linebacker flew at him with full force and grabbed his jersey for a sack, but Jurkovec spun and wheeled to his left. He moved away from the intended tackle and barely turned his body back towards the sideline as he delivered a flat-footed throw towards his target. The tight spiral flew 50 yards in the air and landed softly into the awaiting hands of tight end Hunter Long.Â
A penalty flag ultimately negated the score, but the moment highlighted Jurkovec's ability to blur design with improvisation. He slowed the play down by speeding up and boiled his instincts into the play. He spun and scrambled while keeping his wits and vision.Â
It would have been the perfect play if the flag didn't unravel the score, but it illustrated exactly what offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti saw when he merged his offensive mind with the new quarterback of the Eagles.
"(Phil's) done a really nice job," head coach Jeff Hafley said. "I think you see the progress from the first game to the third game. (It's a) totally new system for him. He'd never had a play under center. I know the pass game is a lot different than he's used to. He's gaining confidence, and I think that's the one thing. I think the more confidence we get him, the better he'll be, and I think that's going to take some time."
Jurkovec's arrival at Boston College is well-known and well-hyped after the former four-star recruit transferred from Notre Dame, and his first three starts reinforced why the Eagles sought his talent. Last week, he completed 37-of-56 passes for 313 yards and two touchdowns, the most completions by a BC quarterback at Alumni Stadium and tied for the second-most completions in program history. He attempted the most passes at home by a BC quarterback in the last 25 yards.
He became the first Eagle to throw for 300 yards in multiple games in a season since 2012, and he did so while completing 75 percent of his second half throws for nearly 500 yards and four touchdowns. In the fourth quarter alone this year, he completed 73 percent of his throws for 234 yards and two scores, both of which came in the last two minutes while trailing.
"Every week is different, but we're just building it week-by-week," Jurkovec said. "We're progressing, everyone in the offense, and I can see us getting better (every week)."
"I just think to come out, play, and be confident, be fast, and be aggressive," Hafley said, "(and) then I think you're going to see some leadership from him. You see him late in the game, (and) he turns into this different guy with these laser-focused eyes. It's like, 'okay man, this guy is going to go get it done.' I think you'll just see the development the more he plays the game."
Fostering that development is where Cignetti's reputation truly excels. The former quarterbacks coach of the Green Bay Packers and New York Giants helped lead Aaron Rodgers and Eli Manning to 4,000-yard seasons at the National Football League, and his decade-long tenure in the NFL included two different reimagings of the St. Louis Rams after season-ending injuries to Sam Bradford.
In 2013, Cignetti mentored Kellen Clemens to career highs in passing yards, touchdown passes and completions after Bradford went down in the midseason. The next year, he did it again with both Austin Davis and Shaun Hill after a rehabbing Bradford suffered another season-ending injury during the preseason. The year after that, he completely reinvented the offense around the running game, and Todd Gurley's 1,100-yard season helped the Rams to the No. 7 rushing attack in the league.
That malleability was exactly what Hafley wanted to bring to the run-heavy offense in Chestnut Hill. He had an aspiration for BC but needed to install the correct offense to offset his defensive vision, a similar goal as what Rutgers achieved in 2011 when it won nine games with Hafley coaching on the defense opposite Cignetti's offensive stewardship.
"I trust Frank and the offensive staff," Hafley said, "so I don't really go in there to mettle with them. I don't walk in with a great play and tell them that they have to run it. If it doesn't fit their system, then that's their system.
"We have a really good relationship," he continued. "We talk every Monday night, and I'll give him my thoughts on how I think we should win this (upcoming) game, whether that means bringing the clock down to limit possessions or going fast. I'll tell him how many points I think we might need, and I'll tell him what we have to get done."
It completely reinvented the BC offense around Jurkovec and created the full experience of Cignetti's offense within Hafley's system. It's a complete package for the quarterback, along with the other positions, and has him in the right spot to excel on both a physical and emotional level.
"He's helped me a ton," Jurkovec said. "He's flipped football for me and made it fun again. He made it the way it's supposed to be. The whole coaching staff's done that. They let us play free. Coach Hafley and Coach Cignetti understand that there are different styles of quarterbacking, that you can't box someone into a certain style of what you want them to be. Everyone is going to be a little bit different.
"I'm not a quarterbacks coach and not an offensive coach," Hafley admitted. "Everyone knows that. Coach Cignetti led the charge when it came to video and how we would use it to develop and train (Phil). That's one of the reasons why we wanted to hire him. He's one of the best quarterback coaches in all of football, college or the NFL. Frank sold him on that. With me, I wanted him to know who I was, and I let him and his family know that I would care about him as a person, that I would be there for (everyone), and that was my part.
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