Record-setting Canadian QB Nathan Rourke goes Unsigned by NCAA schools: Why?

[jerrym]

While Nathan Rourke is not one of the three finalists for the Davey O'Brien Award, which is given to the QB judged to be the best in the NCAA each year, he did make the list of 26 QBs to Watch for the award just before the season began. The list of previous winners includes many QBs who played in the CFL or NFL, including quite a few who became stars, as the Wikipedia list shows (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davey_O%27Brien_Award)
Here's the preseason QBs to Watch list (http://daveyobrienaward.org/2018/07/...es-26-players/)
Below is the description of Rourke associated with the 26 QBs to Watch based on his 2017 performance. (https://getsomemaction.com/news/2018...atch-list.aspx)

Rourke, a native of Oakville, Ontario, Canada, had a breakout sopohomore season as he led the Bobcats to a 9-4 overall record, including a 41-6 win over UAB in the Bahamas Bowl. In 13 games, Rourke set a school record with 21 rushing touchdowns with 137 carries for 912 yards rushing. Rourke threw for 2,203 yards and 17 touchdowns passing on 161-of-292 pass attempts. He was named All-MAC Second Team last year and also set school records with 132 points scored, 22 touchdowns scored and was responsible for 39 touchdowns.

Rourke was also selected as one of the top 8 QB performers in the NCAA by the Davey O'Brien Award committee in week five of the 2018 season (http://daveyobrienaward.org/2018/10/...ed-for-week-5/)



Also on the list of 26 QBs considered prospects for the Davey O'Brien Award is Brett Rypien, nephew of Mark Rypien, who was born in Calgary and quarterbacked the Redskins to victory in the 1991 Super Bowl while winning its MVP award. Brett is eligible for dual citizenship because his father, Tim, was also born in Canada. Brett is on BC Lions' negotiation list. (http://3downnation.com/2018/02/21/li...g-canadian-qb/)
This year Brett Rypien has been 263/384 (68.5%) for 3,270 yards. (http://www.espn.com/college-football...2/brett-rypien)

The three QBs who are the finalists for the 2018 are Washington State's senior Gardner Minshew II, Oklahoma junior Kyler Murray and Alabama sophomore Tua Tagovailoa. (http://daveyobrienaward.org/2018/11/...med-finalists/)

[jerrym]

Nathan Rourke, Maleek Irons and Ohio University will be playing in the Frisco Bowl in Frisco Texas on December 19th against San Diego State. The game will be on ESPN at 8:00 PM.

Brett Rypien and Boise State will be playing in the First Responder Bowl in Dallas against Boston College on December 26th. The game will be on ESPN at 1:30 PM.

[jerrym]

The Frisco Bowl featuring Ohio University with Canadians Nathan Rourke and Maleek Irons, playing San Diego State will be broadcast on TSN2 on Wednesday, December 19th at 8:00 PM (Eastern Time).

[OV Argo]

The Frisco Bowl featuring Ohio University with Canadians Nathan Rourke and Maleek Irons, playing San Diego State will be broadcast on TSN2 on Wednesday, December 19th at 8:00 PM (Eastern Time).

Watched a good part of that game = Ohio dominated for an easy win. That's 2 straight Bowl win seasons with Rourke at the helm.

Rourke was impressive - both as a real run threat QB, but also showed a strong arm, especially on deep balls. Don't know if Rourke will end up drawing some NFL interest after his Senior year next season, but he might? CFL interest ? = who knows. Interesting to hear that Rourke's brother - also a QB - has been recruited to Ohio for next year.

Canadian RB Maleek Irons did not play at all (after having a real good season there) - he is their #2 back in a run heavy offence; their #1 RB - AJ Ouellette - had an outstanding game - force as a ball carrier, but also made 2 good grabs, and was excellent as a blocker; some CFL team should be looking at this guy down the road if he does not draw NFL interest - looks like a total package RB.

[jerrym]

Thanks for the good summary of the game OV. I enjoyed watching Nathan in action.

There is more good news when it comes to Rourke and Ohio University. Nathan's brother, Kurtis, another QB, has just signed to play with Ohio. Thanks to Nathan, Kurtis didn't have to go through what Nathan did to sign with a Division I team. Despite an outstanding high school career in Burlington and Oakville, Nathan had to go play in an Alabama high school in his senior year to get any attention in the US college system. Despite doing an outstanding job there, he could only get Fort Scott community college to sign him. Despite another outstanding season, Ohio University was one of the few Division I schools interested in Nathan.

Nathan Rourke’s long, roundabout, highlight-rich trip to the NCAA is complete: The Canadian quarterback has officially committed to play Div. I football at Ohio University.
Rourke played at three different schools the last three years in order to earn a scholarship. First he led Oakville’s Holy Trinity Titans to their first OFSAA bowl championship in 2014. Then he guided Edgewood Academy to a 13-0 record and a Class AA Alabama state championship one year ago. After that he paced the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference with 2,367 passing yards in 11 games this fall. ...

A recruiting whirlwind followed, but the second part of his plan proved tougher to accomplish.
“I talked to UCLA, Missouri, Rice and FAU, a bunch of schools, but one way or another the door shut on me for different reasons,” Rourke says.
When the opportunities with Div. I programs dried up, Rourke decided to go the junior-college route and attend Fort Scott Community College in Kansas, which has seen the likes of first-team NFL players Jason Pierre-Paul and Lavonte David come through the program recently.
The six-foot-two, 215-lb. quarterback passed for 2,367 yards with 18 touchdowns and 13 interceptions, which earned Rourke a first-team All KJCCC nod at QB. ...

The Canadian quarterback wants to break down barriers for pivots from the north. “That’s the motivation. That’s what wakes you up in the morning. It’s hardly done in the CFL, and that’s our league—there’s no Canadian quarterbacks starting. In the NFL Canadian quarterbacks just doen't happen. In the NCAA, it’s rare.”

https://www.sportsnet.ca/football/nf...io-university/

It's been just the opposite with Kurtis, as many Division I schools pursued him after playing at Holy Trinity in Oakville without having to go the US. However, he quickly decided to sign with Ohio. On the game broadcast last night, the announcers said Ohio plans to have Kurtis redshirt next year while his brother plays in his senior year, which still allows Kurtis to play in a couple of games, then play full-time in his redshirt freshman year with the expectation of him becoming the team's starting QB eventually. Even Nathan had to wait behind American QBs as they repeatedly failed to produce last year, until he led the team to come-from-behind victories as a backup.

Since the NCAA has woken up to Canadian QB talent, I think it's about time the CFL did too.

The first url shows highlights of Kurtis Rourke's 2018 season with Oakville. The second url has a review of his skills.

https://a.hudl.com/profile/5350951/Kurtis-Rourke

https://canadafootballchat.com/ohio-...kurtis-rourke/

[jerrym]

Nathan Rourke has won the Jon Cornish Trophy as the Most Outstanding Canadian in NCAA football for the second time.

The vote was conducted after the conclusion of NCAA bowl season. The panel of 14 voters was comprised of CFL player evaluators, Canadian-based media who follow the NCAA and former NCAA players who have a connection to Canada. Each voter was supplied with a highlight video of the player and a detailed statistical abstract for evaluation.

The final vote was extremely tight on the second ballot between the five finalists. Oklahoma State Cowboys running back Chuba Hubbard, a redshirt freshman from Sherwood Park, Alberta finished in a tie for first with Rourke. The tiebreaker was determined by Rourke receiving the greater number of first place votes. Third place finisher Chase Claypool was only one vote behind the leaders.

In total, there were 139 Canadians in NCAA, NAIA and junior college in the 2018-19 season.

Rourke started all 13 games for the Ohio University Bobcats as a dual threat quarterback leading Ohio to a win in the Frisco Bowl and a 9-4 overall record. He completed 164-of-274 of his passes (59.9 per cent) for 2,434 yards, 23 touchdowns and eight interceptions. On the ground, he carried the ball 134 times for 860 yards, and 15 touchdowns.

https://3downnation.com/2019/03/14/c...ncaa-football/

[jerrym]

Nathan Rourke had a fine performance in the Ohio season opener going 16/22 for 188 yards 2 TDs, no INT, while rushing for 75 yards on 10 carries in leading Ohio to a 41-20 win over Rhode Island.

[jerrym]

As Rourke was being named the #3 draft prospect on the CFL Scouting Bureau's report, the QB had two weeks of ups and downs. During the first of these two weeks, Rourke's Ohio Bobcats lost 20-10 to Pitt while he went 15/27 for 177 yards, but even more startlingly for a QB who ran for 912 yards and 860 yards in 2017 and 2018 had a -43 yard rushing loss. However, there is an explanation: Rourke had been sick all week and was playing with a fever, and probably should not have been playing. Last weekend Ohio lost 33-31 to Marshall, but Rourke was back to his old self, going 15/25 for 215 yards passing with 3 TDs and no interceptions, and rushing for 118 yards on 9 carries, a 13.9 average per carry. He also broke Ohio's career TD record for a university that has played since 1894 and still has 9 games to add to the record, accomplishing this in just over two years of playing time. Ohio has also been in the top 12 in the FBS scoring in 2017 and 2018 with Rourke at QB, averaging 39.1 and 40.1 points per game in these two years.
Below is an article that summarizes his journey from Toronto to NCAA stardom.

Three stops, 2,574 miles (4142 kilometers), and 83 touchdowns later, Nathan Rourke set the Ohio Bobcats’ record for the most touchdowns accounted for in a career. ‘Accounted for’ means Nathan Rourke has combined for more touchdown passes, runs, and receptions in his Bobcat career than any other player since Ohio began playing organized football in 1894.
Nathan Rourke wanted to pursue his passion for football at the Football Bowl Series (FBS) level of competition. And with a seven-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Luehrman against former MAC rival Marshall Thundering Herd on Sept. 14, 2019, Nathan Rourke earned a spot at the top of the Ohio Bobcats’ all-time list by accounting for 83 career touchdowns at Ohio. Rourke broke the record of 82 touchdowns set by Ohio great QB Tyler Tettleton back in 2013. Rourke added another touchdown on a 72-yard run to finish the game against Marshall with 84 career touchdowns.

The record for number of touchdowns accounted for of itself is a great accomplishment, but what is perhaps more impressive is the journey it took Rourke just to get to Ohio, and then how quickly he broke the record once he arrived. The distance between Ohio University and Oakville, Ontario, Canada, the place where Rourke spent most of his high school days, is not much more than an afternoon’s drive. That is, if you go in a straight line.

Rourke’s path to Ohio was anything but a straight line. Rourke played his freshman, sophomore, and junior high school seasons at Holy Trinity High School in Ontario before travelling south to Edgewood Academy in Elmore, Alabama, for his senior season. Rourke left Elmore, Alabama and headed northwest to Fort Scott [KS] Community College for his freshman college season. After a season at Fort Scott, Rourke made the trek to Ohio. Three stops and 2,574 miles (4142 kilometers) later, Rourke started his Ohio career.

Once he arrived in Athens, Ohio, it didn’t take Rourke long to rewrite the record books, setting the record after playing only two full seasons and three games in a sport where players can have a maximum of four seasons of eligibility.

And Rourke still has a minimum of nine games to go in his final Ohio season to add to the record, and as many as eleven, depending if Ohio can reach the Mid-American Conference (MAC) title game and a bowl game. Rourke’s record is part of an overall “Golden Age” of Ohio offensive production, where Ohio ranked in the top 12 in the FBS in average points per game with 39.1 in 2017 and 40.1 in 2018.

https://www.hustlebelt.com/2019/9/16...rogram-history

[jerrym]

Nathan Rourke passed for 258 yards and rushed for 80 yards against Northern Illinois this week but Ohio lost a close one 39-36 after winning another one the week before in overtime 21-20.

[jerrym]

Rourke had the best game of his college career today, passing for over 300 yards for the first time, in going 19/28 (68%) with 342 yards and 2 TDs as he threw to eight different receivers, while running for 79 yards and 2 more TDs in leading Ohio to a 45-38 win over Kent State.

[jerrym]

Rourke has been named MAC Male Scholar Athlete of the Week for his performance against Ball State, as well as MAC East Division Offensive Player of the Week for the second week in a row. In the previous week he passed for over 300 yards against Kent State in a 45-38 win.

Senior quarterback Nathan Rourke (Oakville, Ontario, Canada) of the Ohio football team has been named the Mid-American Conference Male Scholar-Athlete of the Week, as announced by the league office today. The Scholar Athlete of the Week Award is presented to a MAC male and/or female student-athlete who has a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better and performs well during that week's competition. An institution can nominate up to one male and one female student-athlete per week in any of that current season's sports. The winners are selected by a representative of the MAC's Faculty Athletics Representatives (FARs).

Rourke earned MAC Male Scholar-Athlete of the Week recognition for the second time in 2019. He also earned honors on Sept. 19.

Rourke helped Ohio (4-4, 3-1 MAC) pile up a season-high 316 rushing yards in a 34-21 win over Ball State last Saturday (Oct. 26) at Scheumann Stadium in rainy Muncie, Ind., running for a season-high 127 yards and two touchdowns. Rourke recorded his eighth career 100-yard rushing game and has now scored 44 career rushing touchdowns, which is good for third-most in program history. He extended his school record for career touchdowns responsible for to 96. Rourke scored the Bobcats' first touchdown from one yard out in the first quarter and their last from 12 yards out in fourth. On a tough day for passing the football, Rourke completed eight of his 16 attempts for 131 yards.

Rourke was also named MAC East Division Offensive Player of the Week for the for the second week in a row, third time this season and ninth time in his career for his efforts at Ball State.

https://www.ohiobobcats.com/sports/f...20191031ife3b3

[jerrym]

Nathan Rourke and the Ohio Bobcats will have their games broadcast on ESPN2 against Miami (Ohio) on Wednesday Nov. 6 at 5:00 PM and against Western Michigan Nov. 12 at 4:30 PM.

[doubleblue]

Caught some of the Penn State/Minnesota Big Ten game today. Three Canadians on Penn State and two on Minnesota. Penn State's DE Daniel Joseph 6'3 260 wasn't in the game that I saw. He is listed at number 10 on the CFL fall draft list. Saw him play earlier this fall and IMO he was just ok, using Randy's assessment of Reimer. Penn State also has a couple of Soph's in LB Jesse Luketa 6'3 247 and free safety Jonathan Sutherland 6' 200. Luketa is a good back up who has started a game this year and Sutherland is the starting free safety for Penn. They played well and of course have two more years of eligibility.
Minnesota have two Canadian graduate Seniors who transferred there for their last year of eligibility. CB Ben St. Juste 6'3 190 was the starting right corner back for the Gophers. He played well having a couple of good pass knock downs but he wasn't tested as often as the LCB. I don't know why he isn't listed in the top 20 for the 2020 CFL draft.
PK Michael Turbutt 6'190 only shows one convert this year, and he wasn't doing any of the kicking today. His Bio from previous years shows he is 3 for 3 on field goals over 50 yards. 5 for 11 for 40 to 49 yards. 5 for 9 for 30 to 39 yards, and 4 for 4 for 20 to 29 yards out. Will probably be a later round pick.
As I was really focusing on watching the Canadian players I didn't watch the other positions as closely, but one player for Minnesota caught my eye as a CFL type. DT Sam Renner 6'3 275. Too light for the NFL but about right for the CFL. Reminded me a bit of Dylan Wynn.

[OV Argo]

Caught some of the Penn State/Minnesota Big Ten game today. Three Canadians on Penn State and two on Minnesota. Penn State's DE Daniel Joseph 6'3 260 wasn't in the game that I saw. He is listed at number 10 on the CFL fall draft list. Saw him play earlier this fall and IMO he was just ok, using Randy's assessment of Reimer. Penn State also has a couple of Soph's in LB Jesse Luketa 6'3 247 and free safety Jonathan Sutherland 6' 200. Luketa is a good back up who has started a game this year and Sutherland is the starting free safety for Penn. They played well and of course have two more years of eligibility.
Minnesota have two Canadian graduate Seniors who transferred there for their last year of eligibility. CB Ben St. Juste 6'3 190 was the starting right corner back for the Gophers. He played well having a couple of good pass knock downs but he wasn't tested as often as the LCB. I don't know why he isn't listed in the top 20 for the 2020 CFL draft.
PK Michael Turbutt 6'190 only shows one convert this year, and he wasn't doing any of the kicking today. His Bio from previous years shows he is 3 for 3 on field goals over 50 yards. 5 for 11 for 40 to 49 yards. 5 for 9 for 30 to 39 yards, and 4 for 4 for 20 to 29 yards out. Will probably be a later round pick.
As I was really focusing on watching the Canadian players I didn't watch the other positions as closely, but one player for Minnesota caught my eye as a CFL type. DT Sam Renner 6'3 275. Too light for the NFL but about right for the CFL. Reminded me a bit of Dylan Wynn.

According to the Gophers site - St Just still has 2 years of eligibility left there - so he won`t be CFL draftable till then. Sounds like a good CFL prospect for sure though.

As far as kickers in the upcoming draft - the CFL Scouting Bureau had the kicker Molson (UCLA i think) listed in their initial top 20; but seems to me Western dual kicker Mark Legghio - just outstanding place-kicking & punting numbers this season, should blow him away. That initial Bureau listing was heavy on NCAA Canucks but a number of them are not doing much in US college ball this season = maybe shouldn`t be rated near that high. A bunch of U Sports stars should rise up in subsequent rankings - like DTs Andrew S-Spauding (McGill) and Cam Lawson (Queens) - both Conference award winners this year),and a few receivers - Brocku (Manitoba), Hastings (Acadia), Hall (Laurier), Klassen (Sask Huskies)

[doubleblue]

According to the Gophers site - St Just still has 2 years of eligibility left there - so he won`t be CFL draftable till then. Sounds like a good CFL prospect for sure though.

As far as kickers in the upcoming draft - the CFL Scouting Bureau had the kicker Molson (UCLA i think) listed in their initial top 20; but seems to me Western dual kicker Mark Legghio - just outstanding place-kicking & punting numbers this season, should blow him away. That initial Bureau listing was heavy on NCAA Canucks but a number of them are not doing much in US college ball this season = maybe shouldn`t be rated near that high. A bunch of U Sports stars should rise up in subsequent rankings - like DTs Andrew S-Spauding (McGill) and Cam Lawson (Queens) - both Conference award winners this year),and a few receivers - Brocku (Manitoba), Hastings (Acadia), Hall (Laurier), Klassen (Sask Huskies)

Yah, Ben St. Juste eligibility is kind of mixed up. He is listed on the Minnesota roster as a Senior but apparently he has 2 or 3 years of College sports eligibility left. He went to Michigan in 2016 but I guess he didn't play much because of injury but he already graduated so under the new NCAA rules of a few years ago, he could transfer and play right away instead of sitting out a year. Don't know why he would want to keep playing College football when he could get paid to play a better brand of football in the CFL. The NFL would still find him if he is good enough.

Interesting about Western kicker Mark Legghio. Pfeffer is to inconsistent IMO.
The UCLA kicker Molsen is strictly a place kicker it seems and doesn't seem to have much range past 45 yards but he must be very reliable for the CFL scouts to have him rated at number 12 in the top 20 list. Sounds like he would be an upgrade over Crapigna.

[OV Argo]

We`re evolving this thread to one about CFL upcoming draft prospects - and receiver Brendan O`Leary-Orange (Nevada) - who is on this year`s initial CFL Scouting Bureau top 20 list - finally had a stat for this season - one catch, but for 50 yards. Mentioning this cause i see from his bio that he is the son of former Argo RB Doyle Orange (i remember his 1000 yard Argo rushing season) - and don`t recall that being brought up here before. Big 6-4 receiver target who had a decent receiving season in NCAA ball a couple of years back, but hasn`t done as much the past 2 seasons. Maybe the Argos look at bloodlines in the draft - but not sure the Argos have anymore room at NI receiver. But hey - maybe the Argos draft him and Nathan Rourke and have he and O`Connor throwing to 3 NIs in the receiving corps. LOL

[doubleblue]

We`re evolving this thread to one about CFL upcoming draft prospects - and receiver Brendan O`Leary-Orange (Nevada) - who is on this year`s initial CFL Scouting Bureau top 20 list - finally had a stat for this season - one catch, but for 50 yards. Mentioning this cause i see from his bio that he is the son of former Argo RB Doyle Orange (i remember his 1000 yard Argo rushing season) - and don`t recall that being brought up here before. Big 6-4 receiver target who had a decent receiving season in NCAA ball a couple of years back, but hasn`t done as much the past 2 seasons. Maybe the Argos look at bloodlines in the draft - but not sure the Argos have anymore room at NI receiver. But hey - maybe the Argos draft him and Nathan Rourke and have he and O`Connor throwing to 3 NIs in the receiving corps. LOL

I have a little list of about 8 guys that I hope the Argos can land 4 of in the first 3 rounds. Brendan is on the list for one of my possible picks of the two 3rd round selections. We see how it goes.

[jerrym]

In yesterday's game against Western Michigan Rourke was 20/29 for 225 yards in addition to 93 yards rushing on the ground. Trailing 31-24 with 47 seconds remaining,

The Bobcats took over at their own 47, and senior quarterback Nathan Rourke (Oakville, Ontario, Canada) completed a 27-yard pass along the sideline to redshirt freshman wide receiver Jerome Buckner (Columbus, Ohio). Rourke then completed passes of nine yards to redshirt freshman running back O'Shaan Allison (Norristown, Pa.) and five yards to redshirt junior tight end Ryan Luehrman (Athens, Ohio) to give the Bobcats a first down at the Western Michigan 12. On the next play, with nine seconds left, Rourke threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to redshirt junior wide receiver Tyler Tupa (Brecksville, Ohio), and redshirt senior placekicker Louie Zervos (Tarpon Springs, Fla.) made the extra point to force overtime. ...

Ohio got the ball to start overtime but was unable to pick up a first down, settling for a 37-yard field goal by Zervos. Western Michigan then took over possession and gave senior running back LeVante Bellamy the ball three times, with the first carry going for 20 yards and the last going for four and the game-winning touchdown. ...

Rourke increased his school record for touchdowns responsible for to 101.

https://www.ohiobobcats.com/sports/f...20191112xq7495

[jerrym]

This week Nathan Rourke led Ohio to a dominating 66-24 victory over Bowling Green while going 14/21 for 267 yards and passing for three touchdowns. His brother Kurtis Rourke, another QB who broke many of Nathan's high school records at Holy Trinity in Oakville, got into his first game action at Ohio, carrying the ball three times for 20 yards. He is only a freshman.

[jerrym]

Rourke passed for 308 yards while going 20/28 with 4 TD passes in leading Ohio to a lopsided 52-3 victory against Akron today before leaving the game to allow his backups some playing time.