For Boston College first-year head coach Jeff Hafley, as well as transfer quarterback Phil Jurkovec, pulling out a 31-30 overtime victory against Pittsburgh Saturday night at Alumni Stadium had some added significance.
Hafley spent five years at Pitt as an assistant under Dave Wannstedt, a stint that would lay the foundation for his coaching career. Jurkovec grew up in Pittsburgh and dreamed of playing there before deciding to go to Notre Dame and then ultimately transferring to BC.
The win was sweet for Hafley, but also put his young coaching career into perspective.
“I think it was some reflection today, truthfully, thinking about all the people along the way and how I really got started at Pitt,” Hafley said. “All my time there, five years was a long time for a young coach and without my time there and the great people, I wouldn’t be here today.”
Jurkovec, who threw for 358 yards and three touchdowns, picked up a call from Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi when he entered the transfer portal in January, but saw BC as the ideal landing spot.
“It means a lot,” Jurkovec said. “I grew up watching Pitt, got a lot of respect for them, so to be able to just get the win in that fashion it just means a lot.”
Through four games, Jurkovec has thrown for 1,181 yards, a feat no other BC quarterback has accomplished through their first four games as an Eagle. He’s thrown for at least 300 yards in three of his first four starts with 99 completions, and eight touchdowns — all BC records through four games.
Knowing how much the game meant to Jurkovec, Hafley tried to calm his quarterback’s nerves the night before.
“I know he was excited about this one,” Hafley said. “I told him last night, ‘Hey, you’ve got to just go in and treat it like another game.’ But I know this one was special for him.”
Spreading his wings
In past seasons, the tight ends have been the workhorses of Boston College’s offense.
They were asked to do everything — block, catch, and with the physical stamina to remain on the field for exhausting stretches — and they did it.
That was the blueprint redshirt junior tight end Hunter Long followed for his first three seasons.
But when first-year head coach Jeff Hafley inherited the roster in the offseason, he looked for ways to maximize Long as a weapon.
“It’s our job as coaches when you have a guy like Hunter, you’ve got to use him,” Hafley said before BC’s thrilling 31-30 overtime victory over the Pittsburgh Panthers. “I think that’s the sign of a good football coach. You realize the talent you have, and no matter what your system is, you put your kids in the best position to make plays. That’s what our coaching staff has done with Hunter.”
Going into Saturday’s ACC matchup against Pitt at Alumni Stadium, Long, a 6-foot-5-inch, 253-pounder from Exeter, N.H., ranked as the nation’s leader in receiving yards by a tight end. He’s third overall in receiving yards.
Through the first three games of the season, Long caught 25 passes for 270 yards and two touchdowns after catching 32 passes in his first two years. He added 6 catches for 93 yards, including a long gain of 25 yards, vs. the Panthers, giving him 31 catches for 363 yards on the season.
It surpassed his totals from a year ago when Long led the Eagles with 28 catches for 509 yards and two touchdowns.
“It’s like he’s a wide receiver sometimes, and he has a wide receiver skillset, so we’re going to do that,” Hafley said. “Then there’s going to be times where there’s some big people, and he’s going to have to block. So when you see that in training camp like we did, if we didn’t do that, we’d be doing an injustice to the kid as far as using his talent.”
Hafley credited tight ends coach Steve Shimko with the quantum leap Long has made thus far this season.
“They’ve really done a nice job of putting him in position to make plays, and he’s made a lot of them,” Hafley said. “He gave us fits in training camp, and usually what happens in training camp shows up in the games, and the guy works so hard, he studies, he’s just such a smart kid.”
Getting in gear
Despite the Eagles' metamorphosis into a pass-happy offense, Hafley said that establishing the running game was still important.
Junior running back David Bailey was expected to take the baton from BC’s all-time leading rusher A.J. Dillon, who was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the second round of the NFL draft earlier this year, but through three games, Bailey’s carried the ball just 33 times for 112 yards and one touchdown. His longest carry was 12 yards.
The Eagles rushed for 101 yards on 41 combined attempts against Pitt’s top-ranked rushing defense. Bailey led the way with 15 carries for 36 yards vs. the Panthers.
Hafley said during the week he had a conversation with Bailey, a bruising 6-foot, 236-pounder from Ridgley, Md.
“He’s a team guy, and I told him that his time is going to come,” Hafley said. "I know we threw the ball about 90 times last week, but there’s going to be a time when he’s going to get it 30 times and we’re going to need him.
“I told him, the best thing I saw in that game was the run he had. He looked violent, he looked fast, he looked downhill and I was fired up. I saw the look in his eye in the huddle that I loved. His time is going to come, I told him to keep being patient and his time is going to come. I love coaching him.”
Meanwhile, Hafley’s found ways to utilize redshirt freshman running back Pat Garwo III, a 5-9, 216-pounder from Levittown, Pa., who came to the Heights with a lot of excitement around his potential.
With eight catches for 54 yards, Garwo’s ability to catch passes out of the backfield adds another element to BC’s offense.
“I think he gives you a guy who can spread out and catch the ball out of the backfield, line up as a wideout,” Hafley said. “He’s good for pass protection on third down, and then he’s certainly been good in the run game. He’s had some bumps and bruises, we got to make sure he’s 100 percent healthy. I think he’s going to have his time here too.”
UNC hangover
The Eagles were still feeling the effects of a rugged game against last week North Carolina when they took the field against Pitt. They were without senior running back Travis Levy (shoulder) and senior defensive back Deon Jones (elbow). Hafley had expressed the hope to have both available after they practiced during the week. Levy’s absence snapped a streak of 41 consecutive games played . . . The Eagles' list of unavailable players included freshman receiver Justin Bellido, redshirt sophomore defensive back Tyler Days, redshirt sophomore linebacker Vinny DePalma, redshirt freshman defensive back Connor Grieco, redshirt freshman defensive lineman Izaiah Henderson, freshman defensive back Jio Holmes, redshirt sophomore tight end Joey Luchetti, freshman tight end Hans Lillis, redshirt junior long snapper Tito Pasqualoni, redshirt sophomore linebacker Joe Sparacio, graduate student receiver Kobay White, and sophomore receiver Ethon Williams . . . Boston College once again went through the ACC’s weekly COVID-19 testing protocols without a positive test result. The Eagles have conducted more than 4,500 tests since returning for voluntary workouts in June with just one positive result. Pitt also announced none of its players tested positive.
Julian Benbow can be reached at julian.benbow@globe.com.