Pittsburgh Steelers invite former Pitt QB Phil Jurkovec to minicamp as tight end

The Steelers are inviting another Pitt quarterback to mini-camp. And we promise, this isn’t a Kenny Pickett situation.

Or even a quarterback issue.

Rather, the Steelers are bringing in former Pitt quarterback Phil Jurkovec to rookie minicamp, which starts on Friday. But Jurkovec won’t be hanging out with the quarterbacks. That’s because he switched positions. Pittsburgh is giving him a look at tight end.

“I’m excited,” Jurkovec told the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. “We’ll see. I’m going to give it my best shot.”

This is kind of like the Tim Tebow tryout a few years back. Except Jurkovec isn’t a pop culture icon like Tebow. Or maybe he’s more like Taysom Hill, who is a quarterback/tight end/H-back for the Saints. Hill also dabbles on special teams as a gunner.

At one time, Jurkovec was a highly-touted quarterback recruit. When he signed with Notre Dame, the On3 Industry ranking listed him as the 90th-best overall recruit in the country. He also was No. 10 amongst national QBs. Jurkovec grew up in Gibsonia, a Pittsburgh suburb.

He stuck around South Bend for two seasons. Then he transferred to Boston College, where he was teammates with Dino Tomlin, the son of Steelers coach Mike Tomlin. Small world, right? In a full-circle detail, Jurkovec then transferred to Pitt to play college football in his hometown.

But Jurkovec lasted a month as the Panthers starting quarterback. In early October 2023, he switched to tight end in order to see the field. He hadn’t played the position since his middle school days. Jurkovec made an appearance in one game as a tight end. But he practiced with the tight ends every day.

“I just looked for a new position to play and see where I can help out,” Jurkovec said. “I learned a lot. (And) I was just practicing, doing my best, seeing what would come of it.”

Now, maybe he can play the position well enough to earn a free-agent contract and an invitation to Steelers training camp. He’s now built like a tight end, with a 6-foot-5, 245-pound frame.

The Steelers will have at least one rookie quarterback in minicamp. Hours after the NFL Draft finished on April 27, Pittsburgh signed former Ole Miss and Central Florida quarterback John Rhys Plumee. He was an outstanding runner at Ole Miss and even saw snaps at receiver. He then finished his collegiate career in Orlando, Fla.

Pittsburgh will conduct its mandatory mini camp from June 11-13. Phase 3 of OTAs starts later this month. That’s when Steelers coaches can best check out all the new quarterbacks, with Russell Wilson vying with Justin Fields for QB1.

As for Kenny Pickett, the former Pitt star who started two seasons for the Steelers, now is with the Eagles.