Brian Kelly Talks About Phil Jurkovec

Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly spoke highly of Boston College quarterback Phil Jurkovec in advance of Saturday's matchup

As expected, Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly was asked multiple questions about Boston College quarterback Phil Jurkovec during the Monday press conference kicking off preparation for the 5-3 Eagles.

When a player is performing as well at quarterback as Jurkovec has this season he'll obviously be a topic of conversation, and the fact Jurkovec transferred from Notre Dame only adds to the storyline.

Kelly talked about the kind of player and teammate Jurkovec was at Notre Dame.

Kelly also talked about what he sees from Jurkovec this season, and how he compared to where he was last season at Notre Dame. He also talked about the kind of season Jurkovec is having with the Eagles.

Although I don't think this was behind Kelly's comment about Jurkovec at all, his comments do show why Jurkovec was never going to be given the opportunity to challenge starter Ian Book. Kelly was respectful with his comments on Jurkovec and he spoke highly of his former player, but Jurkovec never seemed to be a fit for what Kelly wants at quarterback compared to what former OC Mike Denbrock (who recruited Jurkovec) wanted at quarterback.

The comments I'm focused on with this are Kelly's comments about Jurkovec making plays "outside the realm of the offense." Jurkovec is not a guy that you can fit into a system and ask him to sit back in the pocket and pick teams apart and then run if no one is open. Jurkovec is a player you need to give a great deal of freedom, and that's not really what Kelly wants in his offense.

This isn't a criticism and isn't meant to start up a Jurkovec vs. Book debate, it's just an observation based on what I heard behind the scenes last season, how Kelly talks about his offense and how that fits into his comments about Jurkovec, which the Irish head coach clearly meant to be complimentary of the BC quarterback.

Jurkovec currently leads the ACC with 2,083 passing yards, and his 15 touchdown passes is tied for fourth. He leads the ACC with 34.6 pass attempts per game and he leads the conference with 172 completions. He is second in the ACC in total offense with 2,179 yards. Jurkovec has accounted for 74.1% of Boston College's yards this season, which leads the ACC and trails only Florida quarterback Kyle Trask among Power 5 quarterbacks.

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