The Saskatchewan Roughriders selected Indiana University quarterback Kurtis Rourke in the third round, 25th overall during the 2025 CFL Draft.
Rourke was chosen by the San Francisco 49ers in the seventh round, 227th overall during the 2025 NFL Draft. He became the first QB from Canada to be picked in the NFL Draft since Jesse Palmer in 2001. John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan love Rourke’s upside in the NFL.
“It’s a future’s pick and something that may never happen. When we looked at the potential of having him on your team, what he would bring, the success his brother’s had in our league — you can never have enough good quarterbacks — we thought that was a time we should take a shot on him,” general manager Jeremy O’Day said.
The Oakville, Ont. native produced a career year at Indiana, leading the Hoosiers to an 11-2 record and a berth in the College Football Playoff. The graduate transfer completed 69.4 percent of his passes for 3,042 yards with 29 touchdowns versus five interceptions, earning second-team All-Big Ten honours and finishing ninth in voting for the Heisman Trophy.
Those accomplishments came despite Rourke playing the entire 2024 campaign on a torn ACL he re-injured in training camp. In addition to wearing a brace on his right knee, the Canuck pivot also battled through a broken thumb which required surgery and caused him to miss one game.
The 24-year-old Rourke is reportedly ahead of schedule after ACL revision surgery on January 8 and could be healthy in time for NFL training camp in late July. However, rehab left him watching the pre-draft process from the sidelines and took away opportunities to showcase his talents at the East-West Shrine Bowl, NFL Combine, and Indiana pro day.
“For all we know, Kurtis is going to go have a great career in the NFL, but if he doesn’t than there’s an opportunity with us. It takes guts to make a pick like that knowing there’s a possibility that you don’t get him. It’s one of those risk-rewards, I think I’ve shown we’re not scared to make those picks,” O’Day said.
“You don’t want to miss too many times on those guys and you want to restock your Canadian talent. There’s no one in the room that’s going to argue with you when you’re picking a player like that because they get excited about the what ifs. The guy that’s gotta wear it is standing in front of you.”
Rourke began his career at Ohio University, following in the footsteps of his older brother, Nathan, to become the Bobcats’ starter. He threw for 7,651 yards with 50 touchdowns against 16 interceptions while running for 828 yards and 11 scores over five seasons. The six-foot-four, 220-pound pivot was named the Mid-American Conference’s Most Valuable Player in 2022 — the same season in which he tore his ACL for the first time.
