How Indiana QB Kurtis Rourke rose from Canadian underdog to force behind Hoosiers’ dramatic turnaround

The best quarterback in the Big Ten is not a household name. He’s not on the never-ending lists of Heisman Trophy candidates, nor is he a highly-paid transfer star.

Sixth-year senior Kurtis Rourke has led Indiana to what many thought were unattainable heights in just six weeks. His Hoosiers are 6-0 for the first time since 1967 and they’re doing it with a high-flying offense that is churning out a new wave of stars in real time.

Rourke looks the part of a future NFL Draft pick. He has the prototypical measurables (6-foot-5, 223 pounds) and a whip-fast arm that has moved him up draft boards after entering the season as a late-round possibility. Rourke leads the Big Ten in passer rating (192.1), yards per attempt (11), and touchdowns (14) ahead of big names like Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel and Ohio State’s Will Howard.

Halfway through the season, the nation is beginning to take notice.

“We have all these guys who might not have been the star player in high school, but we make sure that we will become the star player in the end,” said Indiana defensive end Mikail Kamara, who co-leads the Big Ten with five sacks. “All of us have a chip on our shoulder. We’re willing to go the extra mile that all these other guys are not willing to do.”

Some of the Hoosiers’ stars have literally traveled the extra mile, moving across geographical regions and away from friends and family to chase their dreams in Bloomington, Indiana. Nine years ago, the Rourke family was among those who took a risk. Brothers Nathan and Kurtis were talented quarterbacks who dreamed of playing college football, but there was one problem: they lived in Canada, a no man’s land for college recruiters.

Brotherly love 

College coaches rarely leave the United States to scout and recruit players, so Canadian prospects seeking college scholarships usually travel south to attend camps. Betting on their son’s future, the Rourkes did one better, moving to Elmore, Alabama so Nathan could play at Edgewood Academy. As the younger sibling Kurtis sacrificed a starting spot on his high school junior varsity team in Oakville, Ontario in the process to help Nathan’s college prospects. 

“He was so frustrated with the situation of being away from home and having a whole year where I was really the star,” Nathan Rourke said. “He and I butted heads a lot. We fought a lot in those couple of years, especially trying to get him to go to the gym. I remember throwing on the field and getting into arguments because I wanted to work a little bit longer or go to the gym for a little bit longer. I was being very specific about my training regimen and he hadn’t figured that out yet.”

Nathan excelled at Edgewood Academy, throwing 59 touchdown passes against only three interceptions in his senior year. Naturally, he thought college recruiters would come calling. They didn’t. He received one offer from a Division II school and opted to enroll at Fort Scott Community College in Kansas. He performed well enough there for one season to get a call from Ohio, where he shattered records and won three consecutive bowl games. He’s now widely recognized as the best quarterback in school history.

Meanwhile, Kurtis’ patience paid off. Nathan’s success helped the younger Rourke get his foot in the door at Ohio. If not for Nathan, Kurtis may have been a quarterback lost in the Canadian wilderness. He played Grade 13 football in Oakville, where Canadian rules continue often repel college coaches from scouting quarterbacks playing on bigger fields against different defensive coverages. 

“It was tough,” Kurtis admitted. 

He was rated a three-star prospect, the No. 1 player in Canada, but was ranked the 97th-best quarterback in the 247Sports recruiting rankings in 2019. It was — and still is — frustrating for the Rourkes.

“I kinda lucked out,” Kurtis continued. “I hit a growth spurt late, so I didn’t really know what my future would look like in high school, but having my foot in the door with Ohio and other MAC teams because of my brother really benefitted me getting that first notice.”

The Brothers Rourke also achieved their first goal: playing together on the same college team. They were roommates at Ohio in 20 Nathan led the Bobcats to a third-straight bowl game, and Kurtis took notes, offering advice to his older brother from the sidelines on game days. 

Kurtis then spent the next two seasons splitting time with a transfer and correcting professors who accidentally called him “Nathan” in some classes. He eventually blossomed into the MAC Offensive Player of the Year as a junior as the Bobcats’ option offense transitioned into a pro-style scheme.

Kurtis Rourke’s Career at Ohio

“He was just trying to find his own place. What was difficult for him was that he was always trying to make a name for himself,” said Nathan, who went on to the NFL and is back in the CFL after breaking that league’s completion percentage record in 2022. “He was really trying to get out from underneath my shadow and he ended up doing that.”

A change of scenery

Kurtis threw for 3,256 yards and 25 touchdowns, and secured a spot in the MAC Championship Game during his MVP season in 2022, but tore an ACL in the second-to-last game of the year. Ohio lost to Toledo with Rourke on the sideline.

So, facing another obstacle, Kurtis set a goal: heal and rehabilitate the knee in time for the season opener in 2023. He did just that, but was injured again in the first quarter of the Bobcats’ first game. He returned that season, but it didn’t go according to plan. He threw for just 2,207 yards and 11 touchdowns in 11 games.

“It wasn’t a season that I was certainly hoping for from a personal standpoint, but the team was able to win, so I was happy about that,” Kurtis said. “But I felt like as the season went on, there was a lot more that I could have shown, and it contributed to the decision to enter the portal to see if there was a team out there that would help me with my draft stock and give me the opportunity to compete for a spot.”

He entered the Transfer Portal on Dec. 5 and fielded calls from BYU, Vanderbilt, and Wake Forest. When newly hired Indiana coach Curt Cignetti saw Rourke’s name in the portal, he did some research, watched film, and knew he had to sign him “as soon as I saw him.” 

Two days later, as Cignetti packed boxes for his impending move from Virginia to Indiana, the coach called Rourke to offer him a scholarship. The coach reeled off his accolades and coaching resume to Rourke: a 119-35 record as a head coach, including four conference titles, and a stint coaching for Nick Saban at Alabama.

“I thought really highly of him after that, but being told what his winning percentage is, I had to fact-check him, of course,” Rourke laughed. “And everything was true.”

Rourke’s fact-finding mission perfectly encapsulates the challenges Indiana and Cignetti have faced since the coach was hired to resurrect the moribund program. The coach has never been afraid to say he believes he can win championships at the perennial cellar dweller, using his career record as evidence of quick turnarounds. That’s fine to say, but the common response is always an incorrigible: at Indiana?

During a press conference in December, the coach was asked “for the 15th time” how he was going to recruit high-profile players and find success on the field. Tired after a long national signing day, Cignetti fired back: “I win. Google me.”

So, Rourke did just that and signed with the Hoosiers.

“I really liked his maturity, he was player of the year in the MAC, he could make all the throws (and) he knew how to play quarterback, you know what I mean?” Cignetti said. “Tom Brady knows how to play quarterback. I was around Philip Rivers for four years at NC State and got to coach him his senior year. There’s a little bit of Rourke that reminded me of Philip on tape.”

Building a winner

Rourke was part of a signing class that included 13 players who followed Cignetti from James Madison. 

“I was getting older guys who played a lot of ball, which is what I like about the portal with quarterbacks,” Cignetti said.

Rourke and those transfers arrived on campus in January. The quarterback gravitated to JMU transfer Elijah Sarratt, the receiver who churned up 1,191 yards and earned All-Sun Belt honors last season. He picked Sarratt’s brain on coordinator Mike Shanahan’s offense. The duo worked together late into the night on the field and in meeting rooms, dissecting defenses and working on routes and timing. Nine years after struggling to keep up with his older brother’s exhausting training schedule, Kurtis has certainly picked up the pace.

“He clocks in and puts his work in, and for me, that’s all you want to see with your guys,” said Sarratt.

Bloomington is abuzz about the Hoosiers. Classmates who questioned players in the spring whether the Hoosiers could be competitive are now wearing Cignetti and “Never Daunted” t-shirts on campus. Students have packed the stadium at Cignetti’s request, most notably during a 42-28 win against Maryland despite the rain and a discrepancy of four turnovers between the teams.

The superlatives are seemingly endless. Indiana enters Week 8 as one of two FBS teams that hasn’t trailed in a game this season. The Hoosiers average 47.5 points per game, an increase of 25.3 points from last season, the biggest turnaround among power conference teams. 

Meanwhile, Rourke owns the nation’s second-best passer grade (91.2), according to Pro Football Focus’ metrics.

If it all seems like a dream, Nebraska could be the team to sound the alarm. The first half of Indiana’s schedule did not include an opponent with a winning record, and the six teams are a combined 14-22 entering Week 8. Remaining on Indiana’s schedule are nationally-ranked Michigan and Ohio State — the Big Ten’s bluebloods. The Huskers figure to be the biggest challenge yet, particularly for Rourke. Nebraska owns the nation’s fifth-best pressure rate  on quarterbacks (10.4% of snaps). Rourke counters with the nation’s best passer rating against the rush (133.1) and has only been pressured on 3% of dropbacks.

“Kurtis is a dog,” Kamara said. “The way he moves in the pocket and gets out of some of these sacks, the throws he makes on the run, you can just tell how patient he is and he’s a veteran at his craft. He has a ton of resilience.”

From a high schooler sacrificing a year of football to help his brother, to a married sixth-year senior leading the Big Ten’s elite stable of quarterbacks, Rourke has made a name for himself.

“He’s so driven and it’s such a proud moment for me as an older brother to see him grow up and embrace this part of his life,” said Nathan, “and taking it as his own.”