The quarterback position has been one of if not the biggest position of need for Indiana football since Michael Penix left the program in 2022.
The struggles of the position and Curt Cignetti’s success with the quarterback position were one of the key reasons he was named head coach of Indiana football this offseason.
“We wanted someone who was a proven evaluator and developer of talent. And we really wanted someone also who had worked with quarterbacks,” Indiana Director of Athletics Scott Dolson said about Cignetti during his introductory press conference. “Quarterbacks was really important to us.”
Cignetti made an immediate effort to improve the quarterback room when he took over the program. After losing Brendan Sorsby to Cincinnati in the transfer, he reloaded the quarterback room.
Ohio transfer Kurtis Rourke was one of the biggest additions to the Indiana football roster. Cignetti also added to 2024 recruits with Tyler Cherry and Alberto Mendoza.
While Cignetti won’t name a starter, Rourke is expected to start for Indiana football when they take the field in the fall.
“[Kurtis] Rourke went with the ones today, Tayven [Jackson] with the teams, and [Tyler] Cherry with the threes,” Cignetti said about the quarterback depth chart during the first spring practice.
Before he came to Indiana, Rourke spent five years with Ohio, where he threw for 7,651 total yards, 50 passing touchdowns, and 16 interceptions. In 2022, Rourke was named the MAC Offensive Player of the Year after he threw for 3,257 passing yards, 25 touchdowns, and only four interceptions.
He led the Bobcats to an 8-3 record before suffering a season-ending knee injury.
After recovering from injury, Rourke’s production dropped off, but he still led Ohio to an 8-3 record in 2023. Rourke threw for 2,207 yards, 11 touchdowns, and five interceptions last season. Now a full year removed from the injury, the hope is Rourke will be back to his 2022 form.
“I’m not gonna tell you about the quarterback rotation. From here on out, I may not be very open about it,” Cignetti said after Indiana football’s sixth spring practice. “Although, I am impressed with Rourke’s progress.”
Rourke is by far the most experienced quarterback on the roster, so him standing out in the quarterback room is no surprise.
With a wide receiving core that includes standouts like Elijah Sarratt and Donaven McCulley, Rourke could be in a prime position to establish himself as one of the better quarterbacks in the Big Ten.
“He just looks like [he is more comfortable],” Cignetti said about Rourke’s play in practice. “The last two practices he’s been functioning, looking like a high-level quarterback.”
While Cignetti likely will not say it, it seems that Rourke is establishing himself as the guy as we move deeper into spring practices.
Rourke will have a chance to further solidify himself as the number one quarterback when Indiana football has its first scrimmage this weekend.
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