Canadian quarterback Nathan Rourke has been closely following his brother Kurtis Rourke at Indiana University.
The younger Rourke has led the Hoosiers to a 6-0 start while earning a No. 16 ranking in the AP Top 25 poll. It’s the program’s best start to a season since 1967.
“He’s making a lot of noise, it’s hard to ignore it. I’ve been keeping up with him and it’s been fun,” the elder Rourke said. “He’s doing really well there. Him and his wife, Caroline, are settling in and having a good little community there. That’s been really exciting on and off the field for him.”
“He’s like an old grizzly NFL vet that’s played in the Pro Bowl a few times, taken thousands of snaps, knows how to handle every situation and circumstance,” Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti said.
The six-foot-five, 223-pound passer has completed 73.8 percent of his passes for 1,752 yards with 14 touchdowns and two interceptions with his QB rating checking in at 192.1. He’s on pace for his most productive NCAA season after transferring from Ohio University.
“He’s a guy that I feel like that’s always come naturally for him. He’s got the size, he’s got the arm talent and I think he’s in an offence that is willing to build their plan around him and what his strengths are,” Rourke said.
“He’s always been a very natural thrower of the football. He’s been working harder to be more of an athletic guy. He’s always worked really hard to be strong in the weight room, to be faster, to work on his sprinting, work on his acceleration. He’s one of those guys that’s undervalued as a runner.”
The older Rourke completed 58.7 percent of his passes for 7,457 yards with 60 touchdowns and 20 interceptions over the course of his college career at Ohio. He had 425 carries for 2,034 yards, averaging 6.2 per carry, plus 49 rushing touchdowns in 39 games as a Bobcat.
“For me at Ohio, I was more of a runner. The instincts, the scrambling, that’s something I do quite naturally and I worked really hard to become a passer. We have inverse career trajectories, if you will,” Rourke said when explaining the differences between his and his brother’s playing styles.
“When I was in school, we didn’t do as much throwing because that wasn’t my strength. I was able to work on it and by the time it was my turn to play in the CFL, I had taken a step in that direction.”
After stints with four NFL teams, Jacksonville, New England, New York and Atlanta, the B.C. Lions QB has an idea about what it takes to succeed in the NFL.
“I would love for him to get the opportunity to do so. I think he continues on the way that he’s been, I think that we don’t ever see him up here and that’d be OK with me,” Rourke said.
The quarterbacking Rourke brothers talk regularly despite packed football schedules and playing in different time zones. Watching late-night B.C. Lions games isn’t ideal for the Hoosiers pivot, but the two stay up to date with what’s going on in their lives.
“We’ve got a lot of stuff going on, there’s no one that knows what I’m going through better than him and vice versa. We’ve been on that road together. I’m very appreciative of the way that we’re able to talk to each other about a lot of relatable things,” Rourke said.
“We’d love to be able to come off a Grey Cup win in B.C., in Vancouver. Then next week go to Columbus and see the Hoosiers upset the Ohio State Buckeyes. I think they have every opportunity to do it. Hopefully, we don’t let up our side of the bargain and it would be a great November for the Rourkes.”
The Indiana Hoosiers (6-0) host the Nebraska Cornhuskers (5-1) on Saturday, October 19 at 12:00 p.m. ET with Kurtis looking to build his growing case for the Heisman Trophy. Nathan and the B.C. Lions (8-9) host the Montreal Alouettes (12-3-1) at 7:00 p.m. ET, though he is not expected to play after losing his starting job.
