Irish Commit Phil Jurkovec Named Finalist For U.S. Army Player Of The Year
On Nov. 20, Notre Dame quarterback commit Phil Jurkovec and 15 other high school seniors were named nominees for the 2018 U.S. Army Player of the Year Award, which is given to the top senior player in the country annually.
The U.S. Army All-American Bowl selection committee narrowed the choices for the prestigious award to six finalists today, and Jurkovec was among the group selected.
Jurkovec, who is ranked as the No. 80 overall player nationally by Rivals, was one of two quarterbacks to be named a finalist along with Clemson commit and the nation’s No. 1 player Trevor Lawrence of Cartersville (Ga.) High.
“The six Player of the Year finalists are a diverse group of student-athletes with unique strengths and talents, much like the soldiers who make up our Army team,” said Elizabeth F. Wilson, deputy assistant secretary of the Army for marketing. “We congratulate these six finalists and look forward to the winner’s announcement on January 5 during the U.S. Army All-American Bowl Awards Show.”
It’s been quite the senior season for Jurkovec. The Gibsonia (Pa.) Pine-Richland product has led his team to a perfect 14-0 and is two wins away from capturing the Pennsylvania Class 6A state title.
For the season, Jurkovec has connected on 211 of 278 throws (75.9 percent) for 3,528 yards with 36 touchdowns and four interceptions. He also has 105 rushing attempts for 1,031 yards and 19 scores.
The Irish commit’s season includes registering the most total yards of offense (539) in a WPIAL playoff contest and becoming one “of just a few quarterbacks” to accumulate 3,500 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in the same season, per Mike White of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Jurkovec’s strong play on the field is being recognized nationally.
Notre Dame five-star wide receiver target Amon-Ra St. Brown of Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei was also named a finalist. Five-star defensive end Micah Parsons, Rivals250 linebacker Dax Hollifield and Rivals250 athlete Derion Kendrick, who is committed to Clemson, rounded out the list.
The winner will be announced Jan. 5, 2018, during the U.S. Army All-American Bowl Awards Show.
If Jurkovec were to win the award, he would become the second Notre Dame quarterback signee to do so, joining Jimmy Clausen (2007).
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