Notre Dame Football: 5 reasons Phil Jurkovec should start in 2018

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - OCTOBER 01: Head coach Brian Kelly of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and his team wait to head on to the field for the start of the game against the Syracuse Orange at MetLife Stadium on October 1, 2016 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

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5. Jurkovec would set Notre Dame up nicely for the future

Often times, coaches have loyalty to veteran players and even though they might not be the best options to start at quarterback, they stick with them.

Sometimes there’s a younger quarterback on the roster who the coach doesn’t quite want to throw into the fire just yet, but he knows that the reward would be well worth the risk. Such is the case with Brandon Wimbush and Ian Book returning with experience and Phil Jurkovec waiting to be the quarterback of the future.

If Brian Kelly decides to stick with Wimbush, he’d have him for 2018, barring injuries, but then he’d be forced to start a new quarterback in 2019. If he chose Book, he’d have the junior for two seasons and then Jurkovec would be a junior, or redshirt sophomore, by the time he becomes the starter.

Kelly could make a statement about his confidence in the future by starting Jurkovec in 2018 and relying on him for the next 3-4 years. It’s been a while since Notre Dame last had a three or four-year full-time starter, and this would certainly bring the program back to national contention each season.

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