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Oakville, Ontario native the top Canadian in NCAA Football
Presented by Krown Produce
VANCOUVER, BC - The Jon Cornish Trophy committee is pleased to announce that Indiana graduate student quarterback Kurtis Rourke has been named the winner of the 2024 Jon Cornish Trophy, recognizing the top Canadian performer in NCAA football this season.
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A graduate student quarterback who transferred from Ohio to Indiana, Rourke led the Hoosiers to their best season in decades, going 11–2 and rewriting program history. Regarded by multiple evaluators as one of the top quarterbacks in Division I, his steady decision-making, efficiency stymied opposing defences and vaulted Indiana into uncharted territory. Earning second-team All-Big Ten honours, a ninth-place finish in the Heisman voting, and a spot as a Manning Award finalist, Rourke’s meteoric rise cements his status as an elite signal-caller with a bright professional future.
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His performance placed him in the top 10 of several passing categories in FBS. He posted a QB Rating of 176.0 was second in FBS, was 3rd in passing yards per attempt at 9.5, was 5th in passing TDs with 29, was 8th in completion percentage at 69.4, and 9th in +300-yard games with four.
Rourke is the first Big Ten quarterback with at least 250 yards passing and three passing touchdowns in his first three career road starts. He is just the second B1G signal caller with at least three touchdown tosses in his first three career road games (Justin Fields, Ohio State).
His three B1G OPOTW honour rank as second-most in a single season in program history behind Anthony Thompson (4; 1989). He also set Indiana’s single season record for touchdown passes with 29, which also ranks tied for No. 10 on the career charts at Indiana. His six touchdown passes in a single game against Purdue to close out the season tied a school record.
Rourke’s standout season garnered extensive recognition, including:
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Reese's Senior Bowl Watch List
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Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week (9/16)
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Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week (10/7, 12/2)
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Manning Award Star of the Week (9/16)
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Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Top 5
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Davey O'Brien Award Semi-Finalist
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Maxwell Award Semi-Finalist
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Walter Camp Award Semi-Finalist
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All-Big Ten Second Team (Coaches, Media, AP)
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Manning Award Finalist
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Finished ninth in Heisman Trophy voting
Rourke follows in the footsteps of his brother, Nathan, as a Jon Cornish Trophy recipient. Nathan—currently the starting quarterback for the CFL’s BC Lions—won the award in 2017 and 2018 while starring for the Ohio Bobcats of the Mid-American Conference.
A graduate of Holy Trinity Catholic Secondary School in Oakville, Ontario, Rourke becomes the second player to have graduated from a Canadian high school to receive the award. The only other recipient to come directly from a Canadian high school was Chuba Hubbard, who won in 2019 after graduating from Bev Facey Community High School in Sherwood Park, Alberta.
Rourke is the sixth recipient of the award from Ontario over the last eight seasons.
The Results of the 2024 Cornish voting:
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Kurtis Rourke Grad Student/Quarterback, Indiana Hoosiers/Oakville, ON
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Dariel Djabome Junior/Linebacker, Rutgers Scarlet Knights/Longueil, QC
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Elic Ayomanor Junior/Wide Receiver, Stanford Cardinal/Medicine Hat, AB
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Ty Benefield Sophomore/Safety Boise State Broncos/Vancouver, BC
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Jett Elad Senior/Safety UNLV Rebels/Mississauga, ON
Honourable mentions: Jaylen Smith (LB, North Texas – Hamilton, ON); Keelan White (WR, Montana – North Vancouver, BC); Rohan Jones (TE, Montana State – Montreal, QC); Nick Cenacle (WR, Hawai’i – Montreal, QC).
Winners
2017 – Nathan Rourke, QB, Ohio – Oakville, ON
2018 – Nathan Rourke, QB, Ohio – Oakville, ON
2019 – Chuba Hubbard, RB, Oklahoma State – Sherwood Park, AB
2020 – John Metchie III, WR, Alabama – Brampton, ON
2021 – John Metchie III, WR, Alabama – Brampton, ON
2022 – Chase Brown, RB, Illinois – London, ON
2023 – Elic Ayomanor, WR, Stanford – Medicine Hat, AB
2024 – Kurtis Rourke, QB, Indiana – Oakville, ON
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