Nathan Rourke’s Journey from Star CFL Quarterback to NFL
The journey of former BC Lions quarterback Nathan Rourke to the NFL with the Jacksonville Jaguars is a CFL success story.
The Victoria, BC native first made his presence known in college with the Ohio Bobcats, throwing for 7,457 yards with 60 touchdowns. He finished with a 25-14 record as the Bobcats' starter, including three consecutive bowl wins.
Rourke was also the first winner of the Jon Cornish Trophy, which debuted in 2017 for the top Canadian football player in the NCAA. He won the award again the following year.
Rourke was ranked as the seventh-best prospect going into the 2020 CFL draft before ultimately being selected in the second round by the BC Lions. At the time, he was the highest-drafted quarterback in the CFL Draft since 2001, when Jesse Palmer was also taken 15th overall.
After a tryout with the New York Giants as a receiver, Rourke signed a three-year contract with the Lions in 2021. His first season was spent mostly on the bench, but he did start two games, finishing with 754 yards passing and three touchdowns, as well as another five rushing scores.
Then came 2022 when Rourke stormed onto the scene, throwing for 3,349 yards with 25 touchdowns to 10 interceptions, along with 304 rushing yards and seven scoring runs in his nine starts.
Even more impressive was the number of records he broke in just 10 games played that year. Rourke twice broke the passing yards record by a Canadian quarterback, throwing for 477 yards before going for 488. He also broke a BC Lions record for completions in a game with 39. Rourke topped it off with a record 91.9 completion percentage in a game.
Unfortunately, Rourke suffered a Lisfranc sprain in mid-August that required surgery. The injury and recovery kept him sidelined until the last week of the regular season, when he returned with vengeance to lead BC to the Western Final, where the Lions lost to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
Rourke didn't walk away empty-handed, however; he won the CFL’s Most Outstanding Canadian award at the end of the season before joining the Jaguars in the NFL on a three-year contract as one of the backups to Trevor Lawrence.
.@nathan_rourke the magician! 🪄
— NFL (@NFL) August 12, 2023
📱: Stream #JAXvsDAL on NFL+ https://t.co/bBFpXewtKp pic.twitter.com/aJyI00EdVw
Even though Rourke hasn’t played in a regular season game, he made quite an impression on NFL fans in the 2023 preseason against the Dallas Cowboys. In an impressive play that quickly went viral, Rourke threw a touchdown pass in the process of being sacked. He finished the game with 153 passing yards and two total touchdowns, leading Jacksonville to a 28-23 victory.
The NFL story of Nathan Rourke might still be in its first year, but many CFL fans are already watching and rooting for his opportunity to come. It’s been quite some time since a Canadian quarterback has played in the NFL, so there will be plenty of northern eyes on Rourke when it happens.
Former CFL Linebacker Shines in NFL
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Anthony Miller has been covering professional spring football since 2019 including XFL, USFL, and CFL. He was a local news reporter in Texas before transitioning to sports. Other sites he writes for includes College Football Network and NTZ Network.