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Pete Thamel, ESPN
Pittsburgh will start veteran quarterback Phil Jurkovec against Virginia Tech on Saturday night, per an ESPN source, a week after he left Pitt’s loss to UNC after taking an illegal hit.
Jurkovec’s status for the game was uncertain after an injury that occurred on a second quarter play against North Carolina where he got targeted. Jurkovec missed the rest of the game and a source described Jurkovec’s injury as the lower body variety, as he was both hit illegally and horse-collar tackled on the same play.
Jurkovec is a six-year senior quarterback who returned home to Pittsburgh for his final year of eligibility after stints at Notre Dame and Boston College.
He’s been up-and-down this season, as he’d completed 11-of-15 passes against UNC before the injury. He’d struggled against West Virginia the prior week behind a porous offensive line, finishing with three interceptions and just 81 passing yards.
He’s completed 51.1-percent of his passes this year and has four touchdowns and three interceptions.
Jurkovec maintained the starting job through the rough patches and completed his first seven passes against UNC. Pitt’s offensive line is down three players who were projected starters, including star tackle Matt Goncalves, and the offense has sputtered accordingly.
Pitt (1-3) has lost three-straight games, including the ACC opener to UNC 41-24. Virginia Tech (1-3) has also struggled amid injuries, as they’ve also lost three-straight games.