PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – His first pass completion was for no gain. The second time he went back to pass, Phil Jurkovec was sacked for a 12-yard loss. It would get much better after that as the Panthers won the season opener 45-7 over Wofford.
"Shaking off some rust, throughout the whole game," Jurkovec said, adding it felt great to be in a Panthers uniform for a real game. "It was a little sloppy. I missed some throws I would like to have throws back. I think I could have had better footwork on certain plays. It's going to come with it. It's been a little time since being on the field."
"The first drive, I told him that doesn't count," said Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi. "I thought Phil was really good. I thought he executed the game plan. I was really, really happy with where he was after game one."
The sixth-year quarterback finished 17-23 for 214 yards and a touchdown with no turnovers. He also rushed seven times for 41 yards including a 23-yard touchdown. It's that ability that even his teammates haven't really seen because defenders don't touch the quarterbacks during practice.
"I wish they were out a couple of times late instead of trying to throw," Narduzzi said. "You know, grass in front of him. He is such a good runner, let him run. There's nothing that defense hates more than scrambling out of the pocket, decent coverage, and then you throw an incomplete pass."
"So that's something we'll clean up. He is smart, and he just hadn't had an opportunity to run very much in practice. That's something that comes with going out there and taking your first hit as a quarterback."
"Sometimes you have the feel in the pocket and you need to escape," Jurkovec said. "That's something we will work on and keep getting better at, those scramble opportunities. It's so hard on a defense, guarding the normal play, but then also the extended one where it could be seven-eight seconds they have to defend. It's really hard on them."
His first touchdown pass as a Panther, and first in college football since October 22 of last year for Boston College, showed off that mobility, even if he threw it that time. Nothing happening in the red zone, Jurkovec scrambled, but instead of running, was able to find tight end Karter Johnson in the back of the end zone.
"Did you see how calm he is in the pocket," Narduzzi said. "Stuff is flying by him. I would be a little skittish back there, but he's just so smooth in the pocket. It's like he doesn't care. That's what you like is the moxie back there."
Jurkovec hit nine different receivers before he was pulled because the game was out of reach for Wofford. He said that wasn't the plan, rather he was just going through his reads and they have a lot of weapons out there.
"He definitely can extend plays," said receiver Konata Mumpfield. "He was extending plays well and getting it to our playmakers."
The challenge jumps dramatically now. Panthers host new Big 12 member Cincinnati September 9 and then the first road game is the Backyard Brawl the following week. It seemed like it was the perfect opener for a quarterback homecoming.
