Boston College QB Phil Jurkovec prepped for season opener versus Colgate

Boston College quarterback Phil Jurkovec has the components in place to manage one of the elite offenses in the ACC.

Jurkovec will set the pieces in motion when the Eagles open the 2021 season against Patriot League contender Colgate on Saturday (noon) at Alumni Stadium. This is the first meeting between the two schools.

BC will allow fans in the stands for the first time since 2019 and Jurkovec is a dual-threat quarterback capable of providing entertainment value along with first downs and touchdowns.

“The campus is buzzing now that everybody is back and nobody has to wear masks,” said Jurkovec, following a hard practice on Tuesday morning.

“There is an excitement you can tell. From what I’ve heard, a bunch of people are going to be at the game and they are ready for the season to start. With the first game coming up, there’s been a lot of buzz.”

The Eagles have two stretch-the-field receivers in All-ACC first-team split end Zay Flowers and returning speedster Kobay White, who missed 2020 with a knee injury.

The wideouts will open the middle for three rotating tight ends, Joey Luchetti, Trae Barry and Charlie Gordinier, who will replace All-ACC first-teamer and Miami Dolphins’ third-round draft pick Hunter Long.

“The tight ends can create mismatches on linebackers and help out in the running game,” said Jurkovec. “We really like tight ends here and we are really going to use them on checkdowns over the middle with the tight ends being tall threats.”

Jurkovec has an intact offensive line that could be the best in the country and features two preseason All-ACC first-team selections, center Alec Lindstrom and left tackle Zion Johnson, and second-team guard Ben Petrula. Right tackle Tyler Vrabel was an All-ACC honorable mention pick last season.

BC lost featured ball carrier David Bailey to the NCAA transfer portal, but third-down back Travis Levy feels he can be the guy for all situations. Levy was third on the team in receptions (35) last season behind Long (57) and Flowers (56).

“I’m very comfortable and it is all the same stuff we’ve been running and the details of which we have down,” said Jurkovec. “The continued reps have been really good.

“We have a lot of weapons and a lot of players and the scheme is great and we are going to pop guys open. Now we just have to execute.”

Pick the kick

The two-deep flip card is college football’s version of the depth chart and BC’s is overflowing at a lot of positions. That’s not unusual before the season opener because starting jobs aren’t always finalized in training camp. The uncertainty is represented by an “or” strategically placed between the top two players listed.

The “or” that jumped off the Eagles’ two-deep was at place kicker, where incumbent Aaron Boumerhi, a graduate student who transferred from Temple in 2019, was listed with Danny Longman. Longman handled kickoffs last season and is challenging Grant Carlson for the starting punter’s job.

Boumerhi looked like a given, having made 16-of-20 field-goal attempts with two long kicks of 41 yards last season. He also showed clutch ability with a 36-yarder with 3 seconds remaining in a 24-21 win over Texas State. He also made 30 PAT kicks.

“Now we have Boom or Danny and hopefully when you see that first PAT, you’ll know what the order is,” said BC head coach Jeff Hafley. “Boom has kicked the ball well all camp and Danny punted and kicked the ball well.

“They have all done really well and they know who it is. There won’t be any surprises there.”

Center of attention

Lindstrom has an added responsibility beyond being command central on the Eagles’ offense. Lindstrom has taken on the task of grooming his replacement for the day he joins his brother Chris (Atlanta Falcons) in the NFL.

Lindstrom’s understudy in the O-line room is Drew Kendall, a 6-foot-4, 285-pound true freshman from Norwell. Kendall prepped at Noble & Greenough of the Independent School League and was an early enrollee, so he participated in spring ball and training camp. Kendall’s father Pete attended BC from 1992-95 and went on to play 13 seasons in the NFL.

“Coach gave us a mentor kind of thing and I’m taking care of Drew because he is a freshman center and I kind of treat him as my student,” said Lindstrom. “He’s a Massachusetts guy so we’ve got that and he’s a great kid and he wants to get better.

“I kind of see myself in him. He came in as a smaller guy and works hard and he always finishes to the whistle. He’s very smart and you need to be very smart to play center. I teach him some techniques here and there and he does very well at that.”

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/38ts2xB