Ohio University QB Kurtis Rourke surpasses brother Nathan to become second-leading passer in school history

Photo: AP/Emilee Chinn

Canadian quarterback Kurtis Rourke surpassed his brother Nathan as Ohio University’s second-all-time leading passer on Friday during Ohio’s 25-14 victory over the University of Akron.

The younger Rourke entered the game 14 yards shy of his older brother’s career mark of 7,457 passing yards and finished the game with 208 passing yards, putting his career total at 7,651.

Rourke now sits behind Tyler Tettleton, who threw for 9,125 yards during four seasons as the Bobcats starter from 2009-2013. Tettleton was briefly with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats during the 2014 CFL season and is currently the assistant receivers coach with the Jacksonville Jaguars, where Nathan is a backup quarterback on the practice roster.

The younger Rourke led Ohio to a 9-3 regular-season record in 2023 less than a year after tearing his ACL in a 32-18 victory over Ball State University last November. Despite the injury, the six-foot-five, 231-pound signal-caller became the first Ohio Bobcat to win the Vern Smith Leadership Award as the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Most Valuable Player. Rourke was also named the conference’s Offensive Player of the Year, the first Bobcat to win that award since 1996.

The 23-year-old threw for 3,256 yards and 25 touchdowns during the 2022 season, leading the Bobcats to their first 10-win season since 2011, first MAC Championship game appearance since 2016 and first bowl game since 2019.

The Oakville, Ontario native was ranked as the No. 1 prospect on CFL Scouting Bureau list that was released in August. In 11 games this season, Rourke has completed 63.5 percent of his passes for 2,207 yards, 11 touchdowns and five interceptions.