The future stars of Ohio State football officially begin their Buckeye careers today as standouts from all over the country put pens to their National Letters of Intent. Signing Day is here.
Eleven Warriors would like to officially welcome Mirko Jurkovic, Jr. to the Ohio State football program.
The Jurkovic File
- Class 2015
- Position OL
- Size 6-5/275
- School IMG Academy (Bradenton, FL)
- Composite ★★★
- Rank 50 (OG)
The son of a former Notre Dame offensive lineman and the nephew of a decade-long NFL vet, Mirko Jurkovic, Jr understands why the offensive line is important in football. Knowing that he wanted to get stronger and more complete as a football player, Jurkovic, Jr. left South Bend last winter and headed south to the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. Doing that was also likely to help garner the 6-foot-5, 275-pounder a bit more recruiting attention.
“I just moved down here to Florida to attend IMG Academy and it’s kind of funny because as soon as I did that, Florida started to reach out to me and now I’m going to visit them on February 22nd. I would say the biggest difference between IMG and St. Joe is the prestige of the skill positions,” Jurkovic shared with Irish Sports Daily last February. “It’s definitely a whole another level with all the talented kids they have down here. These guys are a lot faster, and to tell you the truth, it just seems like everything is a lot faster down here.”
Purdue, Cincinnati, Toledo and a few other mid-level programs had offered Jurkovic early, but the summer came about opportunities from Arkansas, Florida, South Carolina and Nebraska really turned his recruitment up to "notable." During a mid-summer trip home to Indiana, Jurkovic made two visits that would ultimately impact his recruitment more than he might have expected: to Nebraska and Ohio State.
July 21st, Jurkovic committed to Nebraska and it appeared that his college choice was all but settled.
Proud to announce that I am committing to the University of Nebraska, GBR!!!
— Mirko Jurkovic Jr (@mirko_jurko64) July 21, 2014
Except, as is so often the case these days, it was not. A week after making an official visit to Nebraska, Jurkovic was on campus with the Buckeyes. A decision to visit had been in the works for a while according to the versatile lineman.
"[Warinner] and I started to talk again about two months ago," Jurkovic told Eleven Warriors before Ohio State's game against Michigan. "But it really picked up in the last month. He said I've got a scholarship offer on the table, so I'm taking an official visit there to make sure I'm making the right decision."
While he was on campus in Columbus, something unexpected happened: Nebraska fired coach Bo Pelini. With turmoil in Lincoln, Jurkovic officially decommitted from the Cornhuskers and four days later, December 4th, he announced he would spend his college days at Ohio State.
What prompted the Buckeyes to accept a commitment from Jurkovic when they already had four offensive lineman in the mix? What prompted him to commit to a school that seemed to have such a big haul already in hand? His flexibility along the line.
"I like the fact that Ohio State sees I can play all five positions," the lineman, who will likely start his college career as a center or guard, said. "That really will help me get a shot to see the field early."
"I got to spend a lot of time with the players, and I got good feel for what goes on here," Jurkovic told Eleven Warriors. "I felt more at home at Ohio State than anywhere. It reminded me of home."
