Naperville North senior safety Griffin Jurjovec recalls that trips to his grandparents’ house were always a treat.
The milk and cookies weren’t the only reason. The football paraphernalia once worn by his father and uncles was a source of fascination.
“My grandma always had their old helmets and jerseys and stuff,” Griffin Jurjovec said. “Putting those on as a kid and going to games when you’re young, seeing the players, is a great experience.”
Griffin Jurjovec’s father, Tom Jurjovec, played running back and linebacker, uncle Dan Jurjovec played linebacker and uncle Bill Jurjovec played running back and safety. All three appeared in a state semifinal for the Huskies, and Tom Jurjovec got action in the 1994 Class 6A state championship game.
“They love football,” Griffin Jurjovec said. “It just runs in the family.”
Indeed, the Jurjovec family’s football tradition has extended into a second generation. Dan Jurjovec’s son Daniel, a 2025 Naperville North graduate, is a former all-conference and academic all-state offensive lineman.
Now it’s Griffin Jurjovec’s turn to be a leader for the 22nd-seeded Huskies (6-3), who will play at 11th-seeded Oswego (7-2) in the first round of the Class 8A state playoffs at 7 p.m. Friday. He is the fifth member of his family to be a team captain.
“I’ve been playing football since first grade,” he said. “Being in that position and knowing that the hard work has paid off and that my teammates see me as a leader is just a great accomplishment.”
All five Jurjovecs played for Naperville North coach Sean Drendel. Tom Jurjovec was on the team during Drendel’s first season on the staff.
“On the Jurjovec side, grandma and grandpa are hard workers, and I think it starts from there,” Drendel said. “They were really good captain’s parents, and they were very involved in things we did.
“I think (Daniel and Griffin) have kind of carried on that legacy.”
Despite missing one game and parts of two others with an injury, the 5-foot-11, 175-pound Griffin Jurjovec has 21 tackles and four pass breakups. His impact has become heavier as the season progressed.
Griffin Jurjovec had a key interception during the Huskies’ 29-23 win over Neuqua Valley in Week 7 and then made two huge plays during the stunning 14-6 upset of unbeaten Lincoln-Way East in Week 8. He forced the fumble that led to senior running back William Eloe’s second touchdown run and then broke up a pass at Naperville North’s 3-yard line on the game’s final play.
“Griffin is a prime example of a kid who got hurt in the middle of the year and came back and has been better from getting hurt,” Drendel said. “He wants to have the best experience he can have as a high school football player at Naperville North and try to add on to the Jurjovec legacy.”
Griffin Jurjovec has done so at a position that was unfamiliar to him before high school. He had played tight end growing up and saw himself as an offensive player.
“Coming into it freshman year, there was a lot of new kids on the team,” he said. “A lot of them wanted to play wide receiver.
“That’s what I kind of started out with, but we didn’t have enough kids for a full defense, so I kind of made that switch to get that playing time and just try it out. I started off playing linebacker first game, actually. I wasn’t the biggest, so I got moved to safety and liked it and stuck with it.”
Now Griffin Jurjovec is at home in the secondary, where his teammates say he brings acumen as well as physical skill.
“He’s really smart in the classroom, too, so he brings an intelligent edge to the team,” Naperville North senior linebacker Drew Murphy said. “Not only is he smart, but he’s one of the most physical on the team.
“He’ll just fly to make the tackle, and he’s just a great teammate. He gets the boys fired up.”
Griffin Jurjovec, who will not play football in college, is fired up about the postseason. Naperville North’s game on Friday will provide him a chance to add more highlights to the family archive that began with his father.
“My dad is a big role model for me,” he said. “There’s a couple of his state championship or semifinals games that he has on VHS, and I remember sitting there and watching them as kids. It’s very cool to see and watch.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
