A Star In The Making: Pine-Richland's Phil Jurkovec
By: Mike Vukovcan
Get used to hearing the name Phil Jurkovec because he'll be the biggest national recruit from the WPIAL since Jeannette's Terrelle Pryor.
All you need to know is that despite being just a sophomore, Jurkovec just picked up an offer from Notre Dame.
"It's very special to get the offer from Notre Dame along with the other schools that have offered me," said Jurkovec. "I hope to visit each school and talk to more of the coaches."
I asked the young quarterback what it's like to get so much national attention at such a young age.
"It's been really cool to be getting the attention of some big schools. It's been my dream to play Division-1 sports and I've been very excited to receive the opportunity to play at the schools that have offered me," said Jurkovec. "My family has just told me to remain level-headed and grateful throughout the recruiting process."
On Saturday, Notre Dame joined Pitt, Penn State, Michigan State, Wisconsin and Temple as the first schools to offer him. KDKA-TV's Rich Walsh tells me that Auburn could be close to offering him as well.
When asked about Pitt, Jurkovec (6-5, 200) told me, "Being from western Pennsylvania, Pitt has been a team that I have rooted for. I have been able to talk to a lot of the coaches and they seem like very good coaches. I would hope to establish more of a relationship with them and see some more of the university."
Jurkovec was one of the many elite recruits that attended Saturday's game against Notre Dame.
"I had a lot of fun at the game. It was a very good game between two very good teams. For it being a 12 o'clock game, I thought that there were a lot of people at the game," he said.
Jurkovec accomplished an impressive milestone this past Friday, becoming the third player in WPIAL history to throw for over 2,000 yards and rush for over 1,000 yards in a season.
The sophomore quarterback told me that obviously he's a long ways away from getting serious with any school. He wants to continue to field offers and eventually visit some of the colleges in person. Until then, he'll work on improving his game.
"I hope to gain strength, explosiveness and speed as well as improve my leadership skills. Coach Kasperowicz and Coach Jochem along with the other coaches on the staff have been huge in my development. They have prepared me for everything that I've faced this year and I try to listen to all of the advice that they give me because they've been through it all," said Jurkovec.
Jurkovec's Pine-Richland Rams take on Mt. Lebanon this Friday in the Quad-A quarterfinals.
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