Report: Pittsburgh benching Phil Jurkovec following Virginia Tech loss

The Pittsburgh Panthers have seen enough. Numerous sources told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Wednesday afternoon that starting quarterback Phil Jurkovec has been officially relieved of his duties.

When the team takes the field on Oct. 14th against Louisville, the Panthers will start Christian Veilleux at quarterback, according to Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Jurkovec’s play on the field continued to regress this season for the Panthers. Through five games, he’s only completed 50.9% of his passes for 818 yards, while tossing six touchdowns and three interceptions. In Pittsburgh’s 38-21 loss to the Virginia Tech Hokies, he completed 11 of his 22 pass attempts for 235 yards, while tossing in two touchdowns and no interceptions. Jurkovec was also sacked four times in that game.

Jurkovec committed to Notre Dame out of high school and spent two years with the Fighting Irish as a backup quarterback.

He transferred to Boston College in 2020 and earned the starting job right away, putting up the best numbers from an Eagles quarterback since Matt Ryan. In 2020, he completed 61% of his passes for 2,558 passing yards, while tossing 17 touchdowns with just five interceptions. But he has dealt with numerous injuries the past few years, including a broken hand in September of 2021. Jurkovec also took a high hit in the North Carolina game this year, at the end of the first half. He was ruled out of the game after halftime with an undisclosed injury.

Jurkovec played high school football at Gibsonia (Pa.) Pine-Richland, where he was a four-star prospect. He was the No. 90 overall recruit and No. 10 in the 2018 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Rankings.

Jurkovec was one of the more decorated quarterback prospects ever to come out of the state of Pennsylvania. He was named a U.S. Army All-American at Pine-Richland, where he threw for 8,202 yards and 71 touchdowns, completing 68% of his passes.

Throughout his prolific career, he racked up 11,144 total yards, ranking him second in WPIAL history. His senior year, Jurkovec racked up 5,180 total yards of offense (3,969 passing and 1,211 rushing), setting a state record. He also became just the second quarterback in WPIAL history to throw for 3,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards in the same season, joining former Ohio State star Terrelle Pryor. Once the dust had settled, the dynamic dual threat led Pine-Richland to a 16-0 record and the WPIAL and PIAA Class 6A Championships.

On3’s Peter Warren also contributed to this article.