Boston College Athletics
Photo by: John Quackenbos
Jurkovec Levels Up In Leading Comeback
September 29, 2020 | Football, #ForBoston Files
The QB overcame early game struggles by maturing into the offense over four quarters.
If Boston College head coach Jeff Hafley achieves the goals he outlined for his football program, then he might be able to trace it all back to a conversation on the sidelines of Saturday night's game against Texas State.
There were three minutes left in the fourth quarter, and the Eagles trailed, 21-14. Texas State, forced to punt, sailed a kick into BC territory, but coverage tackler Jarron Morris hit Travis Levy with an early tackle before the returner possessed the ball. It drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty with a targeting escalator, and it handed the Eagles a short field from which to work with.
At that moment, Hafley pulled his quarterback, Phil Jurkovec, aside for a quick conversation.
"I looked at him at the end and told him that it's what we talked about," Hafley said. "I told him to let it rip."
The words hit the ignition switch for Jurkovec, and he responded in spades. He completed his next five passes and engineered a game-tying drive by hitting tight end Hunter Long for a game-tying touchdown. Then, after BC's defense forced another punt, he did it again. Over the game's final three minutes, Jurkovec threw for approximately 100 yards across two drives, and the Eagles walked out of their home opener with a 24-21 victory.
"We need to get better," Hafley said afterwards, "and we will get better. The whole offense, I told (offensive coordinator) Coach Cignetti, we struggled early, but when we really needed it the most, they did an awesome job."
That Jurkovec led the comeback was an indication of the desired growth from the position. Hafley had admitted during the week that the team called a "vanilla" game plan against Duke, and there were early game struggles against Texas State because of the pressing need to diversify the offense. Early on, BC called more run-pass option plays, and Jurkovec's first four passes went to running backs. He was efficient, but lacked the deep ball to receivers against the dropback coverage of the Bobcats, and the sluggish start played out uncomfortably as the team acclimated to the newer sets.
"There's a whole bunch of RPOS," Hafley said. "Some of them read an overhang defender. If he steps up, you throw the RPO. If there's an inside defender and he steps up, you throw it or hand it off. There are some built-in (plays) for the quarterback to throw it, with multiple options, and it just depends on which one you (are calling)."
It occurred while the team's trademark synergy uncharacteristically derailed. BC ran a five-minute drive but came up empty after Texas State blocked a field goal, and the palpable shift in momentum resulted in a nine-play drive for a Bobcat touchdown. That knocked the Eagles out of rhythm, which in-game meant that the team had to hunt for ways to regain its stroke. That further led to some forced plays on both sides and compounded the growing pains within the team's new playcalls.Â
"The issues that we had were self-inflicted," Hafley said. "On defense, there was a third down on the minus side of the field, and we called a great pressure that missed a sack. That was self-inflicted down the field. When you do all of that, and the defense is on the field, (the offense) doesn't get into a routine."
Jurkovec admitted to rushed reads and forced plays in the postgame aftermath, but he adjusted nicely during the second half by utilizing his checkdowns. In the fourth quarter, he made quick reads and shifted his eyes with brutal efficiency, and it tore the Bobcats' prevent defense apart with the fear of the deep threat. The deep coverage never stepped up, and it yielded easy passes for the quarterback, who summarily went to his tight end in single coverage at the back of the end zone.
"(My touchdown catch) was a route we work on all the time," Long said. "Phil's great at throwing the ball, and I had one-on-one-coverage (that) I had to win. Phil threw a great ball, and it was awesome."
"There was one (play) where he did a great job on his first read," Hafley said. "It wasn't there and he went right to his second read and threw it to Jaelen Gill. It got the ball in the middle for a first down.Â
"Coach Cignetti is doing a great job of getting us into plays where (Phil) gets it to the sideline or throws it away," he continued. "Those are high-speed, fast percentages. He can't take a sack or throw it into the middle of the field. It's either getting (the ball) to the sidelines, running it, or throwing it away. It's easier said than done (to make those reads). There are coverages where guys are dropping in, and for him to lead us with composure for the two-minute drive is impressive."
It delivered a maturation for Jurkovec and earned him the next level of his development after he easily blew away the Duke defense with comfortable passes in his first game. He made some necessary adjustments against Texas State, but he experienced bulk growth during the game against a speedy, physical defense. In that fourth quarter, he didn't necessarily morph back into the same Phil Jurkovec from the Duke game as much as he added new pieces to his game.Â
"We were out of our rhythm, but we never lost confidence," Long said. "I had all the confidence in the world in Phil, and we got the job done."
This week, the next step for BC happens against a nationally ranked opponent when No. 11 North Carolina visits Alumni Stadium. It will feature a passing defense that allowed less than 150 yards in its only other game, against the notoriously fast attack of Syracuse.
"We spend time on situational football," Hafley said. "We did it every other day in training camp. It's good to work on, so I know when to call timeouts when to run a play versus clocking it. I thought the operation from the booth to the staff to the quarterback was outstanding. The clock management and getting out of bounds - Zay and Hunter got out of bonds. Phil caught (the snap) and threw it, got the vertical, we used timeouts widely, the execution was awesome. We see too many teams that haven't been through it, so I give them a ton of credit for staying calm and cool."
Â
There were three minutes left in the fourth quarter, and the Eagles trailed, 21-14. Texas State, forced to punt, sailed a kick into BC territory, but coverage tackler Jarron Morris hit Travis Levy with an early tackle before the returner possessed the ball. It drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty with a targeting escalator, and it handed the Eagles a short field from which to work with.
At that moment, Hafley pulled his quarterback, Phil Jurkovec, aside for a quick conversation.
"I looked at him at the end and told him that it's what we talked about," Hafley said. "I told him to let it rip."
The words hit the ignition switch for Jurkovec, and he responded in spades. He completed his next five passes and engineered a game-tying drive by hitting tight end Hunter Long for a game-tying touchdown. Then, after BC's defense forced another punt, he did it again. Over the game's final three minutes, Jurkovec threw for approximately 100 yards across two drives, and the Eagles walked out of their home opener with a 24-21 victory.
"We need to get better," Hafley said afterwards, "and we will get better. The whole offense, I told (offensive coordinator) Coach Cignetti, we struggled early, but when we really needed it the most, they did an awesome job."
That Jurkovec led the comeback was an indication of the desired growth from the position. Hafley had admitted during the week that the team called a "vanilla" game plan against Duke, and there were early game struggles against Texas State because of the pressing need to diversify the offense. Early on, BC called more run-pass option plays, and Jurkovec's first four passes went to running backs. He was efficient, but lacked the deep ball to receivers against the dropback coverage of the Bobcats, and the sluggish start played out uncomfortably as the team acclimated to the newer sets.
"There's a whole bunch of RPOS," Hafley said. "Some of them read an overhang defender. If he steps up, you throw the RPO. If there's an inside defender and he steps up, you throw it or hand it off. There are some built-in (plays) for the quarterback to throw it, with multiple options, and it just depends on which one you (are calling)."
It occurred while the team's trademark synergy uncharacteristically derailed. BC ran a five-minute drive but came up empty after Texas State blocked a field goal, and the palpable shift in momentum resulted in a nine-play drive for a Bobcat touchdown. That knocked the Eagles out of rhythm, which in-game meant that the team had to hunt for ways to regain its stroke. That further led to some forced plays on both sides and compounded the growing pains within the team's new playcalls.Â
"The issues that we had were self-inflicted," Hafley said. "On defense, there was a third down on the minus side of the field, and we called a great pressure that missed a sack. That was self-inflicted down the field. When you do all of that, and the defense is on the field, (the offense) doesn't get into a routine."
Jurkovec admitted to rushed reads and forced plays in the postgame aftermath, but he adjusted nicely during the second half by utilizing his checkdowns. In the fourth quarter, he made quick reads and shifted his eyes with brutal efficiency, and it tore the Bobcats' prevent defense apart with the fear of the deep threat. The deep coverage never stepped up, and it yielded easy passes for the quarterback, who summarily went to his tight end in single coverage at the back of the end zone.
"(My touchdown catch) was a route we work on all the time," Long said. "Phil's great at throwing the ball, and I had one-on-one-coverage (that) I had to win. Phil threw a great ball, and it was awesome."
"There was one (play) where he did a great job on his first read," Hafley said. "It wasn't there and he went right to his second read and threw it to Jaelen Gill. It got the ball in the middle for a first down.Â
"Coach Cignetti is doing a great job of getting us into plays where (Phil) gets it to the sideline or throws it away," he continued. "Those are high-speed, fast percentages. He can't take a sack or throw it into the middle of the field. It's either getting (the ball) to the sidelines, running it, or throwing it away. It's easier said than done (to make those reads). There are coverages where guys are dropping in, and for him to lead us with composure for the two-minute drive is impressive."
It delivered a maturation for Jurkovec and earned him the next level of his development after he easily blew away the Duke defense with comfortable passes in his first game. He made some necessary adjustments against Texas State, but he experienced bulk growth during the game against a speedy, physical defense. In that fourth quarter, he didn't necessarily morph back into the same Phil Jurkovec from the Duke game as much as he added new pieces to his game.Â
"We were out of our rhythm, but we never lost confidence," Long said. "I had all the confidence in the world in Phil, and we got the job done."
This week, the next step for BC happens against a nationally ranked opponent when No. 11 North Carolina visits Alumni Stadium. It will feature a passing defense that allowed less than 150 yards in its only other game, against the notoriously fast attack of Syracuse.
"We spend time on situational football," Hafley said. "We did it every other day in training camp. It's good to work on, so I know when to call timeouts when to run a play versus clocking it. I thought the operation from the booth to the staff to the quarterback was outstanding. The clock management and getting out of bounds - Zay and Hunter got out of bonds. Phil caught (the snap) and threw it, got the vertical, we used timeouts widely, the execution was awesome. We see too many teams that haven't been through it, so I give them a ton of credit for staying calm and cool."
Â
Players Mentioned
WR
/ Football
QB
/ Football
RB
/ Football
TE
/ FootballNo. 20 Baseball defeats UMass Lowell (April 28, 2026)
Wednesday, April 29
From the Desk of Blake James | Episode 8
Friday, April 24
Baseball: 2026 ALS Game vs Virginia Tech Recap
Tuesday, April 21
No. 24 Baseball Defeats Duke (April 18, 2026) - Game 2
Sunday, April 19
