High school teammate of incoming freshman QB Phil Jurkovec could join him at Notre Dame

Tackle Andrew Kristofic blocked for Notre Dame incoming 4-star freshman quarterback Phil Jurkovec at Pine-Richland High School in the Pittsburgh area last season. He could do the same one day in South Bend.

Kristofic, who is a 3-star prospect and the No. 10 overall recruit in Pennsylvania according to 247Sports, has received almost 30 scholarship offers, but when speaking to Land of 10’s Ryan Donnelly, the tackle listed Notre Dame as one of his top four choices.

“As of right now, I really like Notre Dame, Clemson, Ohio State, and Wisconsin,” he said. “Those would be the four schools I feel best about.”

The tackle said he may re-visit those four schools, but the Fighting Irish are perceived to be the front runner.

That’s the case not only because of the prestigious Irish football program, but also because of the recruiting success Notre Dame has experienced in the Pittsburgh area. That includes Jurkovic, who came to the Fighting Irish as the No. 4 dual-threat quarterback in the 2018 recruiting class.

Jurkovic and Kristofic are close friends, which might be the biggest advantage the Fighting Irish possess in the tackle’s recruiting process.

“Notre Dame has lots of Pittsburgh guys and there’s a lot of comfort level with having so many guys from this local area up there. That’s another plus for them, I would say.”

It’s still very early, but Notre Dame has three recruits, all of which are 4-star prospects, signed up for the 2019 class. 247Sports has the Irish class ranked 29th in the country.

Donnelly wrote it “wouldn’t surprise” him if Kristofic made his college decision by the end of April.