Kurtis Rourke (born October 25, 2000) is a Canadian professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

for the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Ohio Bobcats The Ohio Bobcats are the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I Intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio University, located in Athens, Ohio, United States. Ohio University is a charter member (1946 ...

and the

Indiana Hoosiers The Indiana Hoosiers are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of Indiana University Bloomington, named after the demonym for people from the state of Indiana. The Hoosiers participate in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Coll ...

. Rourke was selected by the 49ers in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL draft.

College career

Ohio

Rourke was the starting quarterback for the

Ohio Bobcats football The Ohio Bobcats football team is a major intercollegiate varsity sports program of Ohio University. The team represents the university as the senior member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC), playing at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdiv ...

team. After redshirting in

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

, he shared time at quarterback with Armani Rogers in

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

and

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

. He was named MAC student athlete of the week on October 27, 2021, and September 27, 2023. As the starting quarterback for the Bobcats in 2022, he was MAC East offensive player of the week three times during the 2022 season. The first time came in week one of the after passing for 308 yards and four touchdowns against Florida Atlantic. He won the award again in week 4 after passing for a school record 537 yards against Fordham, and also in week 10 with 317 yards and five touchdown passes against Buffalo. After throwing for 3,256 yards and 25 touchdowns, Rourke suffered a season ending torn ACL in the eleventh game of the season against Ball State. In spite of missing the last game and a half of the regular season, he won the 2022 Vern Smith Leadership Award for MAC Player of the Year. Prior to the 2023 season, he was included on the watch lists for the

Maxwell Award The Maxwell Award is presented annually to the college football player judged by a panel of sportscasters, sportswriters, and National Collegiate Athletic Association head coaches and the membership of the Maxwell Football Club to be the best all ...

Davey O'Brien Award The Davey O'Brien Award, officially the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award, named after Davey O'Brien, is presented annually to the collegiate American football player judged by the Davey O'Brien Foundation to be the best of all National C ...

Walter Camp Award The Walter Camp Player of the Year Award is given annually to the collegiate American football player of the year, as decided by a group of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I FBS head coaches and sports information direc ...

Manning Award The Manning Award has been presented annually since the 2004 football season to the collegiate American football quarterback as judged by the Sugar Bowl Committee to be the best in the United States. It is the only quarterback award that inc ...

, and

Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award The Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award is given annually in the United States to the nation's top upperclassman quarterback in college football. Candidates are judged on accomplishments on the field as well as on their character, scholastic achievem ...

. and finished the regular season as second team all-MAC. He entered the transfer portal on December 5, 2023.

Indiana

On December 14, 2023, Rourke announced that he would be transferring to

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

. On November 30, 2024, Rourke tied a school record with 6 passing touchdowns in a 66–0 victory over

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donat ...

. In 12 games for the Hoosiers, Rourke logged 3,042 passing yards, 29 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions. On January 3, 2025, it was announced that Rourke had played the entire season on a torn ACL in his right knee, and would undergo surgery to repair the injury.

College statistics

Professional career

Rourke declared for the NFL draft, although he was also eligible for the

CFL draft The CFL draft (also known as the CFL Canadian draft, CFL college draft, or the Canadian college draft) is an annual sports draft in which the teams of the Canadian Football League (CFL) select eligible Canadian Football League#Players and compens ...

due to being a Canadian player in the NCAA, and was projected to be a top draft pick there if he were to go undrafted in the NFL draft; he was ranked #2 overall in the CFL's final pre-draft rankings. Rourke was drafted in the seventh round (227th overall) by the

in the 2025 NFL draft and in the third round (25th overall) by the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 19 ...

in the 2025 CFL draft.

Personal life

Rourke was born to Larry and Robyn Rourke. Rourke's older brother Nathan Rourke, who preceded Kurtis as Ohio's starting quarterback, is a professional quarterback who plays for the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions playe ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL). Rourke is married to Caroline Rourke. Rourke is a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

. He has said, “My identity is in Jesus and not my sport. I may have a bad practice, may have a bad throw, but knowing that, no matter what, Jesus is proud of me. He’s proud that I’m there and my goal every day sto work to glorify Him.”

References

External links

San Francisco 49ers bio

Indiana profile

Ohio profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rourke, Kurtis 2000 births Living people American football quarterbacks Indiana Hoosiers football players Ohio Bobcats football players Sportspeople from Oakville, Ontario Players of American football from Ontario Canadian expatriate American football people in the United States San Francisco 49ers players