Pitt’s first addition from the transfer portal is in, and he’s a local coming home for his final year of college football.

After five years, Phil Jurkovec will finally suit up for Pitt. A former four-star prospect at Pine-Richland, Jurkovec committed to Notre Dame out of high school and spent two years in South Bend before transferring to Boston College ahead of the 2020 season.

He played the last three seasons with the Eagles, throwing for 5,183 yards, 35 touchdowns and 17 interceptions over the course of 24 games, with injuries limiting him to six games in 2021 and eight games this past season.

That three-year stretch, of course, includes two seasons with Frank Cignetti as his offensive coordinator. In 2020, Cignetti and Jurkovec excelled, as the quarterback threw for a career-best 2,558 yards, 17 touchdowns and five interceptions in 10 games.

Cignetti arrived as Pitt’s offensive coordinator this past offseason, and when he went looking in the transfer portal for a veteran quarterback who could step in as the Panthers’ starter in 2023 following the transfer of 2022 starter Kedon Slovis, Jurkovec was the first name he hit on.

It didn’t take long for things to materialize. Slovis’ formal announcement of his intention to transfer was followed shortly thereafter by Jurkovec’s commitment to Pitt.

Cignetti would later fill out the quarterback room with an additional transfer and a high school prospect, but his future as Pitt’s offensive coordinator will ride in large part on his selection of Jurkovec as the Panthers’ next starter.