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Notre Dame Football: Could Phil Jurkovec ever win a Heisman with the Fighting Irish?

By Andrew Miller

EAST LANSING, MI - SEPTEMBER 23: Head football coach Mark Dantonio of the Michigan State Spartans and head coach Brian Kelly of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish talk prior to the start of the game at Spartan Stadium on September 23, 2017 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images)
EAST LANSING, MI - SEPTEMBER 23: Head football coach Mark Dantonio of the Michigan State Spartans and head coach Brian Kelly of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish talk prior to the start of the game at Spartan Stadium on September 23, 2017 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
(Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

What he’d have to do

Winning the Heisman Trophy in 2018 seems to be a bit out of the question for Jurkovec this season. Notre Dame does have a big enough profile to see a true freshman quarterback join the Heisman race, but he would still need a massive season. Jurkovec would need to start likely for the entire regular season, or close to it this fall.

The obvious place to start for Jurkovec to get down the road to winning a Heisman Trophy is winning the starting quarterback battle over Wimbush and Book. Wimbush has his issues with pocket presence and passing accuracy. Things got worse for Wimbush as the regular season went along last year.

Meanwhile, Book is a better thrower than Wimbush but he still had issues taking care of the football last season. Book tossed four touchdowns and four interceptions over a limited body of work that was rounded out nicely in the Citrus Bowl. An obstacle for Jurkovec to pass Book is the momentum that he has entering 2018 coming off that quality postseason performance.

Much of the guessing game surrounding the Notre Dame quarterback competition is just speculation. Kelly has voiced his support for Jurkovec throughout the off-season. And, Jurkovec had a nice showing in spring camp since he was able to enroll early. Enrolling early actually helped Jurkovec to get down the right path to making a huge impact in the national spotlight eight months before the start of the 2018 regular season.

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