CLEVELAND, Ohio — If leading Indiana to an improbable appearance in the 2024 College Football Playoff wasn’t enough of a surprising story, what quarterback Kurtis Rourke revealed afterward made it even more impressive.
Rourke, who transferred to Indiana from Ohio for the 2024 season, played on a torn ACL in his right knee by the end of the season.
“Back in July, I kind of tweaked it a little bit. I got an MRI. It was just partially torn,” Rourke said at the 2025 NFL Combine in Indianapolis on Friday. “They said I might have some nagging comfortability throughout the season until I get rested after the season. So that’s kind of what went on. I kind of had some instability issues. But I just wanted to play through it.
“It wasn’t until after the season when (I) realized that at some point from July to the end of the season that it fully tore. So I was just happy that I was able to play through.”
Rourke only missed one game all season, and that was to have surgery on a broken right thumb.
Despite those injuries, the 6-5, 223-pound Rourke had a strong season for the Hoosiers, completing 69.4% of his passes for 3,042 yards, 29 touchdowns and only five interceptions.
As a player likely to be picked late in the 2025 NFL Draft, playing through the injuries at the level he did is part of Rourke’s sales pitch to teams looking for quarterbacks in the late rounds.
“I look back and look at how great the team did and how well I was able to perform with the torn ACL,” Rourke said. “I just look at it and want to tell teams that if I did that on a torn ACL and a broken thumb, imagine what I can do when I’m fully healthy.”
He rushed for minus-35 yards last season, but it’s understandable considering what he played through.
He did have three straight seasons of at least 200 yards rushing for the Bobcats, showing he has some mobility.
Rourke talked at the Combine about how he had to adjust his mindset last season playing through his torn ACL.
“Obviously I feel very confident throwing the ball, and so that’s what I like to do anyways,” Rourke said. “But I definitely had in my mind if I could make more time in the pocket to deliver a throw, I’d rather do that rather than just to run around. I knew it’s part of the game, part of the position and something that I need to utilize. So if I had to run, I would run.”
He added that being ready for training camp is a realistic goal in his rehab.
Rourke spoke about why he chose to play through the torn ACL. For him, the reason was that he loves the game of football so much that he wanted to be out there as much as possible.
“I’ve been grateful enough to have to not miss many games, even though I’ve had a couple injuries throughout my career,” Rourke said. “I just wanted to be out there. Every time I’ve got injured, it’s shown me how much I love football and how much I don’t want to miss it. So any opportunity that I was given to get in to play, I wanted to.
“I was healthy enough to play and that’s all that mattered to me.”
If Rourke gets drafted and lasts in the NFL, he will have his older brother, Nathan, to thank.
Natives of Oakville, Ontario, Kurtis credited Nathan for getting him into football.
After his own successful career at Ohio, Nathan started his pro career with the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League in 2021. A year later, he earned Most Outstanding Canadian honors despite playing only 10 games, and he led the Lions to the Western Final.
He parlayed that season into a three-year contract with the Jaguars in January of 2023, but he was cut in December having not taken a snap in the NFL.
Nathan is back with the Lions after brief stints with the Patriots, Giants and Falcons.
But if it wasn’t for what Nathan did at Ohio, Kurtis’ chance in college football might not have happened.
“He was a big part of getting my foot in the door when I went to Ohio,” Kurtis said. “Ohio was my only offer and it was largely because Nathan was a success at Ohio. So I just needed that one opportunity. So he was a big part of that…I’m glad that he’s in my corner at all times.”
The Hoosiers finished the 2024 season with an 11-2 record. The only two losses Kurtis Rourke and Indiana suffered were to the teams that played for the national championship: Ohio State and Notre Dame.