TORONTO — Nathan Rourke‘s journey to CFL stardom has been all but straightforward.
Rourke moved to Alabama for his senior season in high school to focus on his college football recruitment. From there, he spent one season at Fort Scott Community College before transferring to Ohio University, where he spent three seasons as the quarterback for the Bobcats.
His performance in Ohio led to attention from both the CFL and NFL, being selected in the second round of the 2022 CFL Draft while also drawing interest as an undrafted free agent down south. Rourke then went on to be named the league’s Most Outstanding Canadian in 2022 with the BC Lions. But it wasn’t always smooth sailing for the future dynamic quarterback.
“I didn’t have a conventional route,” said Rourke. “I didn’t have any scholarship offers out of high school. I went the junior college route, I was undrafted (in the NFL draft).”
RELATED
» Lions sign Justin McInnis to two-year extension
» Rourke, Lions agree to restructured contract
» Crystal Ball: CFL.ca makes bold free agency predictions
» 14 top pending free agents who could be available
» More 2025 Free Agency news and notes
» Subscribe to the CFL’s newsletter for exclusive offers and league updates
» Subscribe to the CFL’s official YouTube channel
Not getting any offers could have deterred other pivots from pursuing a career in pro football, but the Victoria, B.C. native never stopped believing in his own talents.
“Even though that didn’t happen the way that I thought, it doesn’t mean that it was impossible.
“My career I wouldn’t trade for anything.”
That’s because Rourke is well aware of the sacrifices that were made for him to reach the position he has as the face of the Lions franchise. The pivot wasn’t the only one to bet on his talents, with his family – including his brother Kurtis Rourke – doing everything they could to make sure that Rourke would have a shot at fulfilling his dreams.
“In grade 11, when I was looking to get recruited, my family made a decision to move down to Alabama. My mom sold her business so they could make that move. My brother Kurtis gave up his grade 10 year to be able to live with us in Alabama. Sacrifices like that contributed to me being here because it allowed me to get to the next step.”
“That year showed that they were all behind me.”
It’s now time for his younger brother Kurtis to step into the spotlight. The younger Rourke also played for Ohio before transferring to Indiana University and leading the Hoosiers to the College Football Playoffs. Kurtis is now – like his brother – drawing attention from both the CFL and NFL as he enters his own draft cycle (the quarterback holds the No. 1 ranking in the Winter edition of the CFL Scouting Bureau).
The brothers have benefitted from going against each other growing up, but Nathan is now rooting for his brother to achieve similar success to the one he has so far.
“When I think about my relationship to Kurtis, it has always been really competitive,” said Nathan. “We’re really supportive of each other. In the off-season we’ll compete, but at the end of the day I just want to see him succeed, I can’t wait to watch what he does this year.”