Scouting Profile: Kurtis Rourke - QB - Indiana
Sales Pitch: Experienced quarterback with an ideal build, however below average mobility and accuracy will relegate him to backup duties.
*Gold Numbers Indicate NCAA T-25 for 2024*
*Red Numbers Indicate NCAA B-25 for 2024*
Scouting Report
Kurtis Rourke is a Canadian born player who was a 2-Star prospect coming out of high school. He started 33 games across 4 seasons at University of Ohio, where he was a 2x time All-MAC honoree and the MAC OPOY in 2022. Rourke transferred to Indiana for the 2024 season, starting 12 games despite having a partially torn ACL, and leading the Hoosiers to the college football playoffs, receiving a 2nd Team All-Big 10 nod for his efforts.
Rourke possesses an ideal build for the position, with good height and mass. He is a tough hardnosed quarterback willing to stick in the pocket and deliver the ball while being hit. His thick frame and strong upper body is able to spin out of contact in the pocket and extended plays. Rourke is at his best operating off play action. He gets the ball out on time to open targets both from the pocket and when rolled out. His experience is on full display when teams blitz him, consistently replacing the free runner with the ball for easy completions. Rourke displays solid deep ball accuracy with good placement on the back shoulder to give him receivers a chance. He isn’t a high level thrower to the intermediate areas of the field, but shows flashes of NFL level touch on routes to the sideline.
Rourke’s physical skillset outside of his size is below average for an NFL starter. He has a average arm with a slow long release that struggles to push the ball down the field into tight windows. As a result of multiple lower body injuries his explosiveness and quickness as a runner has dissipated over the time, and he offers little threat to run. A large percentage of Rourke’s production game off play-action and 50/50 balls down the sideline at Indiana. He has inconsistent footwork that causes his accuracy to be scattershot, limiting yards after the catch. He is a below average processor in pure drop back situations, who is slow to get through his full reads. Rourke struggles to identify coverage and defender leverage as a passer, and forces too many dangerous throws. He will predetermine reads before the snap and struggles to get off that choice. His delay as a processor creates a slow internal clock that results in a large amount of sacks. Rourke struggles to keep his poise under pressure and is quick to drop his eyes and run when he sees flashes off color. He lacks the mobility to consistent break the pocket and create with his legs.
Rourke profiles best in a play-action heavy offense with a lot of guardrails to keep him protected. His mental makeup and NFL caliber size should find him a bench slot at the next level, but likely will never be more than a high end backup. Rourke projects as a Day-3 pick for a team looking for a experienced backup on a cheap deal.