Notre Dame backup QB Phil Jurkovec is in transfer portal

Notre Dame backup quarterback Phil Jurkovec is in the NCAA's transfer portal.

Jurkovec's name showed up in the portal late Wednesday morning. Ranked by ESPN as the nation's No. 9 pocket passer and No. 126 overall player in the 2018 recruiting class, Jurkovec backed up Ian Book this past season, completing 12 of 15 passes for 222 yards and two touchdowns in six games.

Book recently announced he would be returning for his final season in the fall. Notre Dame in December signedDrew Pyne, ESPN's No. 9 pocket passer and No. 166 overall player in the 2020 recruiting class. Pyne is set to enroll later this month. The Irish also have a commitment from 2021 quarterbackTyler Buchner, rated as ESPN's No. 50 junior recruit.

Jurkovec struggled in Notre Dame's spring game in April but showed progress in preseason practice and during the season, according to coach Brian Kelly. But Kelly decided not to replace Book with Jurkovec after a blowout loss at Michigan, saying in late October, "There is no quarterback controversy. There isn't any kind of conversation about making a change."

The 6-foot-4, 227-pound Jurkovec appeared in only two games in 2018, so he would retain three years of eligibility even if he has to sit out the 2020 season, as per NCAA rules for non-graduate transfers.