ESPN Places Pitt QB Phil Jurkovec in Middle Tier of FBS Starters

Phil Jurkovec doesn't bring an unblemished record to the Pitt Panthers but there is reason for optimism.

PITTSBURGH -- Former Boston College quarterback Phil Jurkoec was the biggest addition of the offseason for the Pitt Panthers, who were looking to replace their top two signal-callers from a season ago. 

While Jurkovec brought with him a lot of hype, there are some concerns as he arrives at Pitt coming off of a brutal final season with the Eagles in which he completed just 59.5% of his passes for 1,711 yards, 11 touchdowns and eight interceptions in eight games. As a result, ESPN's David Hale placed him in thesixth tier of his annual FBS starting quarterback rankings, which is titled "A second act after ACC struggles," alongside Devin Leary, Tyler Van Dyke, Jeff Sims and Brennan Armstrong. 

Hale doesn't necessarily thing Jurkovec is a bad quarterback, but the numbers speak for themselves. There's clear room for improvement at Pitt, where the supporting cast will be much stronger on the whole than it was at Boston College, but he will need to both stay on the field then prove that he can live up to his talent. 

"Of every Power 5 quarterback who started at least six games vs. Power 5 opponents in 2022, none finished with a worse Total QBR than Jurkovec," Hale wrote. "Of course, Jurkovec was playing behind what may have been the worst offensive line in the country. BC ranked 129th in pressure rate allowed and 131st in rushes stopped for a loss or no gain. Jurkovec was pressured on 44.4% of his dropbacks vs. Power Five opponents -- 23% more than any other Power 5 QB. There's nowhere to go but up at Pitt."

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