IU’s Kurtis Rourke named best Canadian player in college football
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (WISH) — After having one of the best seasons by a quarterback in college football, IU quarterback Kurtis Rourke was named the winner of the Jim Cornish Trophy, which honors the best Canadian performer in college football.
Rourke threw for 3,042 yards and 29 touchdowns in 2024. He led the Big Ten in passing touchdowns and passer rating. He only threw five interceptions.
Rourke is the second member of his family to be named the winner of the Jim Cornish Trophy, with his brother Nathan winning the award the first two years it was given out, in 2017 and 2018.
Nathan played quarterback for Ohio, where Kurtis spent the first five years of his college career.
Kurtis Rourke is the second player in the Big Ten to win the trophy, with former Illinois running back and current Cincinnati Bengal Chase Brown winning in 2022.
Rourke is from Oakville, Ontario, which is in the Toronto area.
Rourke was ninth in Heisman Trophy voting and was named second team All-Big Ten.
Rourke’s 29 touchdown passes set an IU single-season record. He was just the third quarterback in IU history to throw for 3,000 yards in a season.
He ended his college career with 10,693 passing yards and 79 passing touchdowns. He led his team to double digit wins in his last three seasons.
IU’s season came to an end on Friday night, losing to Notre Dame 27-17. Rourke helped the Hoosiers reach the College Football Playoff for the first time and led IU to a program record 11 wins in 2024.