The Canadian Football League has unveiled the first edition of the Scouting Bureau rankings for the 2025 CFL Draft, headlined by quarterback Kurtis Rourke.
The 23-year-old is the younger brother of current B.C. Lions’ quarterback Nathan Rourke. He transferred to Indiana University this offseason following an outstanding career at Ohio University and is expected to lead the Hoosiers through his final college season.
Rourke left Ohio as the school’s second-all-time leading passer, surpassing his brother. In 36 games, he completed 638-of-963 passes for 7,650 yards, 50 touchdowns and 16 interceptions, while adding 832 yards and 11 majors on the ground. In 2022, he became the first Bobcat to win the Vern Smith Leadership Award as the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Most Valuable Player and was named first-team All-MAC. The six-foot-five, 231-pound signal-caller tore his ACL late that season but recovered enough to earn second-team All-MAC honours in 2023.
Western University safety Jackson Findlay is the highest-ranked U Sports player on the list, coming in at number five. The native of North Vancouver, B.C. was named a first-team All-Canadian last season after he amassed seven interceptions and 15 pass breakups in 11 games. In 30 appearances over three seasons with the Mustangs, he has racked up 119 total tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, four sacks, eight interceptions, and 23 pass breakups.
In total, prospects from 18 different schools are represented on the list, with Western and the reigning Vanier Cup champion Montreal Carabins being the only programs to appear twice. 14 of the players play in the NCAA, while six compete in U Sports. Defensive line is the most heavily represented position with eight players in the top 20.
The CFL Scouting Bureau rankings are voted on by scouts, player personnel directors and general managers from the league’s nine clubs. This is the first of three prospect rankings that will be released this season. The full fall list can be found below.
CFL SCOUTING BUREAU: FALL EDITION
Rank | Name | Position | School | Hometown
- 1 | Kurtis Rourke | QB | Indiana | Oakville, Ont.
- 2 | Damien Alford | WR | Utah | Montreal, Que.
- 3 | Paris Shand | DL | LSU | Toronto, Ont.
- 4 | Eric Schon | OL | Duke | Barrie, Ont.
- 5 | Jackson Findlay | DB | Western | North Vancouver, B.C.
- 6 | Nolan Ulm | WR | Eastern Washington | Kelowna, B.C.
- 7 | Akheem Mesidor | DL | Miami | Ottawa, Ont.
- 8 | Isaiah Bagnah | DL | BYU | Lethbridge, Alta.
- 9 | Wesley Bailey | DL | Rutgers | Ottawa, Ont.
- 10 | Keelan White | WR | Montana | North Vancouver, B.C.
- 11 | Jett Elad | DB | UNLV | Mississauga, Ont.
- 12 | Rene Konga | DL | Louisville | Ottawa, Ont.
- 13 | Devynn Cromwell | DB | Texas Tech | Toronto, Ont.
- 14 | Jeremiah Ojo | DL | Montreal | Montreal, Que.
- 15 | Devin Veresuk | LB | Windsor | Windsor, Ont.
- 16 | Nate Martey | DL | Arkansas State | Ottawa, Ont.
- 17 | Erik Andersen | OL | Western | London, Ont.
- 18 | Harold Miessan | LB | Montreal | Montreal, Que.
- 19 | Darien Newell | DL | Queen’s | Brampton, Ont.
- 20 | Jaylen Smith | DB | North Texas | Hamilton, Ont.
