NFL Draft
3/13/25
5 min read
Kurtis Rourke 2025 NFL Draft: Scouting Report For Indiana Hoosiers QB
Height: 6040 (verified)
Weight: 220lbs (verified)
Year: Sixth-Year Senior
Pro Comparison: Aidan O’Connell
Scouting Overview
Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Kurtis Rourke is a traditional pocket passer who wins by surveying the field and attacking opposing defenses with his arm. There’s not a lot of outside-of-structure appeal with Rourke, but he has illustrated top-tier toughness and a willingness to stand in vs. pressure to allow plays to develop before releasing the football.
It was enlightening, however, that in Indiana’s two big matchups against Ohio State and Notre Dame, Rourke's limitations were front and center while his supporting cast struggled to win the line of scrimmage. He is a situation-dependent player whose age and injury history may cost him dearly in terms of his draft valuation.
2025 NFL Combine Results
TBD
Positives
- Offers some nice flashes of ball manipulation and touch over the middle of the field
- Has an NFL-caliber arm and enough ability to push the ball downfield and outside the far hash
- Offers good anticipation in rhythm to hit receivers in stride
Negatives
- Will be an older rookie who turns 25 years old in October of his rookie season
- Injury history has some alarming red flags — including a torn ACL he played the entire 2024 season with
- Does not offer a lot of added value outside of the structure of the play
Background
Rourke is from Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. He played his high school football for Holy Trinity HS. There, he was a 2-star recruit (247 Sports) before enrolling at the University of Ohio as a member of their 2019 recruiting class. Rourke appeared in one game in 2019 before redshirting and then started three games during the 2020 season while retaining his four years of college eligibility thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rourke started nine games for the Bobcats in 2021 and then 11 in 2022 while being named the MAC Offensive Player of the Year and First Team All-MAC for his play. His passing numbers were down in 2023 amid another 11 starts and Second Team All-MAC honors before entering the transfer portal as a 3-star transfer (247 Sports).
Rourke landed at Indiana and played the entire season on a torn ACL while helping the Hoosiers to a record-setting season for the program. They made the College Football Playoff before Rourke had surgery in January of 2025 to repair his torn ACL.
Tale Of The Tape
Rourke has NFL-caliber passing skills and should be a viable contender to make an NFL roster despite some red flags that will cost him in the draft. Rourke is tough as nails, offers the prototypical build to operate from within the pocket, and illustrates middle-of-the-field passing ability while mitigating pressure in spite of only modest athleticism.
He’s played a lot of football throughout the course of his college career, so his college tape should be graded on a curve of knowing he’s one of the most developed and mature players on the field. He’ll turn 25 in October of this year.
His playing experience aids him with his procedural execution of the offense. He’s effective at the line of scrimmage and seems to have a good bead on pressure situations and an understanding of how to negotiate pressure as long as he’s hot when and where he’s supposed to be.
When the protection busts or free runners get turned loose too early, Rourke’s lack of functional athleticism tends to cost him, and he doesn’t have the answers he’ll need to bail his teammates out. This makes him situationally dependent, as compared to a force multiplier who can help pull plays out of the fire.
Rourke does show the fearlessness and toughness you’d want in a field general to stare down the barrel and deliver amid hits. He’s a big-bodied passer who can take some body blows, and he undoubtedly gets extra brownie points for playing the 2024 season with an ACL tear.
Rourke’s arm has sufficient torque, and he boasts good touch to feather throws into layers of the field effectively. He’ll beat zone coverage with these throws between the numbers and offers anticipation on throws outside the numbers that pull receivers back away from defensive leverage out of the break.
Overall, he isn’t a quick-twitch player, which can get him in trouble both in collapsing pockets and when seeing receivers late in the rep. He does not have a hairpin trigger and needs to operate in structure or through progressions to ensure a clean release that doesn’t tax his accuracy and lead to missed throws.
Ideal Scheme Fit, Role
Rourke is ideally a developmental quarterback who lands in a situation with a sturdy run game and the offensive line to stay balanced with the game plan. He’s a high-floor player thanks to his experience and maturity but would be best served as a QB3.
Grade: 69.00/100.00, Sixth Round Value
Big Board Rank: TBD
Position Rank: TBD
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