Hafley lands his first major transfer and has his QB

Jeff Hafley doesn't even have his full staff assembled, but it looks like he already has his QB. Multiple reports confirmed that Notre Dame Quarterback Phil Jurkovec is transferring to BC. The western Pennsylvania dual-threat was a four star QB out of high school and would be one of the highest ranked players to ever come to the Heights. While at Notre Dame, he served as Ian Book's backup and saw limited time in mop up duty.

The questions regarding Jurkovec are how much eligibility does he have and when can he play. The consensus seems to be he has three years of playing time left. As for eligibility, he is not yet a graduate, but is supposedly close to finishing his degree. There are also rumblings that BC will apply for a waiver to play immediately. (The recent trend among QBs is to allow them to play right away.)

In the past there was a certain stigma to transfer QBs. The idea was these guys weren't good enough to play at School A so why should they be good enough at School B. But we saw through Tyler Murphy and Patrick Towles that transfer QBs can contribute right away and fill holes on your roster. I also think that elite QBs recruits jumping around is now common place. The last three Heisman winners were transfers and three of the four playoff teams started transfer QBs. 

Jurkovec hardly played at Notre Dame so it is tough for us to know what he really can do. His recruiting profile and athleticism show incredible potential. He has a close relationship with Cignetti so I think there is already an established trust and understanding of what's ahead and what Cignetti envisions. This is all great for BC.

Jurkovec's arrival probably pushes Anthony Brown one step further out the door. I imagine Grosel, Johnson and Valecce are all evaluating their place on the depth chart. If they are smart they would stay at least a season. Who knows what Jurkovec will do and who knows if he will stay healthy. 

Jurkovec could turn out to be BC's version of Joe Burrows or he could end up being just another guy. But right now -- one week into the Hafley era -- this feels like a great first step.

These clips of Jurkovec are as a prospect:

Some playing time for Notre Dame this season. (His time starts at 1:41).

Reaction to Hafley's coordinators

After a few weeks of speculation, Jeff Hafley hired his first coordinators at BC. They are Offensive Coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr and Defensive Coordinator Tem Lukuba. Both have a history with Hafley and both come with some questions. Because there is less known about Lukuba and because he is on Hafley's side of the ball, I will deal with him first.

Tem Lukuba
What to Like: He's relatively young for a coordinator. He has multiple years experience with Hafley. He's recruited our region before. He has P5 experience and NFL experience.
Concerns: He has never been a coordinator before. He has bounced around a bit.
Bottom Line: This is a guy Hafley knows and has worked with before. The fact that Schiano brought him from Rutgers to the NFL is a pretty good endorsement. I am really not concerned about him as a coordinator as I feel like Hafley will be heavily involved in that side of the ball. If Hafley likes this guy and trusts him as a recruiter and talent evaluator, than I am on board too.

Frank Cignetti Jr
What to like: He is an experienced college coordinator with many stops and plenty of history (see below). He has worked with Hafley at two different stops. I assume there is a good level of trust. I also hope that he can be someone Hafley can use as a sounding board. There is a lot to take in as a first time coach. Cignetti has been around the block a few times and the hope is he can help Hafley.
Concerns: Cignetti has been away from the college game for a while now, so he hasn't been recruiting lately. I don't know what he has or will change, but Pitt and Rutgers (his last two college stops) ran somewhat traditional pro-style offenses. I know BC can recruit to that, but I was hoping we might embrace some innovation with the new staff. Selfishly I was hoping for someone either from the Mike/Kyle Shanahan school or the Chip Kelly/Ryan Day school.
Bottom Line: Cignetti had been floated very early on as a potential coordinator. There were some other names also floated who seemingly had more upside or excitement. This is a critical position for Hafley and he needs to get it right. Going with someone he knows is fine. Also, in looking at Cignetti's track record, it is better than I realized. He is not a miracle worker, but has done some impressive things when calling plays.


Frank Cignetti Jr's impact as an OC
(For this exercise I used NCAA stats for his time at Fresno State. So that was just raw, total offense. For the other stops I used Football Outsiders analytics of Offensive S&P+)

Fresno State
Total Offense Rank
Pre-Cignetti in 2001 -- 4th
Cignetti 2002 -- 62th
Cignetti 2003 -- 80th
Cignetti 2004 -- 5th
Cignetti 2005 -- 6th
Post-Cignetti in 2006 -- 64th

North Carolina
Off S&P+ Rank
Pre-Cignetti in 2005 -- 91
Cignetti 2006 -- 80
Post-Cignetti in 2007 -- 93


Cal
Off S&P+ Rank

Pre-Cignetti in 2007 --18
Cignetti 2008 -- 30
Post-Cignetti in 2009 -- 47

Pitt
Off S&P+ Rank

Pre-Cignetti in 2008 -- 63
Cignetti 2009 -- 14
Cignetti 2010 -- 55

Post-Cignetti in 2011 -- 74

Rutgers
Off S&P+ Rank

Pre-Cignetti in 2010 -- 107
Cignetti 2011 -- 98
Post-Cignetti in 2012 -- 109

While not without some ups and downs, Cignetti generally improves on the offense when he arrives and it declines when he leaves. He has produced multiple top 25 Offenses at different stops. He is not someone who dominates at every step, but he is certainly proven capable of handling a P5 offense.