NFL Nathan Rourke’s path to the NFL started in the Canadian Football League with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. A native of Victoria, British Columbia, Rourke went on to play college ball at Ohio Bobcats where he won the John Cornish Trophy as a freshman. The Jacksonville Jaguars may be in desperate need of a quarterback right now, and Rourke was the guy to fill the void. Backup Cody Beathard wound up winning the game for the Jags, but some fans were left scratching their heads as to why the 2022 CFL breakout star, Nathan Rourke, wasn’t called up before the game.
Nathan Rourke was born on May 24, 1998, making him currently 25 years old, a Canadian football quarterback currently on the Jacksonville Jaguars practice squad. Rourke, originally from Victoria, BC, stands at 6’1” 210 pounds and weighs 210 pounds at high school. Rourke played high school football at Holy Trinity (Oakville, Ontario) and then Edgewood (Elmore, Alabama) before transferring to Fort Scott (Fort Scott, Ontario) in 2016. He then went on to play college football at Ohio State (Fort Scott, 2017-19). Rourke was the BC Lions’ second-round pick (15th overall) in the 2020 Canadian Football League Draft. He was with the Lions from 2021-22 and had a record-breaking completion percentage of 78.7% in 2022.
What Happened to Nathan Rourke?
Rourke twice set the Canadian Football League record for passing yards by a quarterback, going 477 and 488 yards respectively. He also set a BC Lions single-game completions record of 39, and a single-game completion percentage record of 91.9. In mid-August, he suffered a season-ending Lisfranc (shoulder) sprain that necessitated surgery. Rourke’s recovery and rehabilitation kept him out of action until the final week of the season, when he returned to lead the Lions to their first Western Final, losing to the Blue Bombers in overtime. Rourke did not leave the Lions empty-handed; after the season, he was named the CFL’s MOU. He then joined the Jacksonville Jaguars on a 3-year deal as a backup to Trevor Lawrence.
While Rourke has yet to play in a regular-season game, he impressed NFL fans during the 2023 pre-season against the Cowboys. In an electrifying play that went viral on social media, Rourke completed a 43-yard, two-touchdown pass in the face of a sack. He finished with 153 total yards and two scores in Jacksonville’s 28-23 win. Rourke may still be in his first year in the NFL, but many fans in the Canadian Football League (CFL) are already watching and waiting for him to step foot on the field. It’s been a while since a Canadian quarterback made it to the NFL, so Rourke will have a lot of northern eyes on him when he finally does.
