Canadian quarterback Kurtis Rourke and Tino Sunseri have been an ideal match with the Indiana Hoosiers.
Rourke transferred to Indiana last December after a five-year stint at Ohio University. Sunseri was hired as quarterbacks coach and co-offensive coordinator by Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti that same month.
“Coach Tino is not just a great schematic coach and knows how to coach football, he’s also been through a lot in his personal quarterback journey,” Rourke said.
“He’s able to help us as well with character and how to deal with certain things, whether that’s leadership on a team, whatever that is because he’s had so many experiences and been around.”
The 24-year-old was tutored by Sunseri as he produced the best season ever by a Canadian QB in NCAA history. The relationship between the two with Canadian football ties has been helpful — Rourke grew up playing Canadian football rules while Sunseri spent three seasons with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
“Not a ton of people here that I talk to know or watch CFL like he does, so it’s good to be able to chop it up,” Rourke said. “Especially when Nathan joined midseason with the B.C. Lions, we were able to talk about that. The game is still football, but a little different rules. I don’t have to explain, it’s pretty nice to have a coach with that experience.”
That Canadian football foundation laid the groundwork for a highly productive relationship. Rourke finished ninth in the Heisman Trophy voting while leading the country in quarterback rating at 181.4. He completed 70.4 percent of his passes for 2,827 yards with 27 touchdowns and four interceptions in 11 starts.
Indiana finished the regular season 11-1, earning a spot in the College Football Playoff. Rourke’s NFL Draft stock has been boosted and Sunseri has been hired as UCLA’s offensive coordinator, a move he’ll make after the Hoosiers campaign ends. Both are rising in the football world, one as a player and the other as a coach.
“He played at Pitt. He had a stint in the NFL and then he played in the CFL. Having a coach that’s been through it all has been very helpful. He’s been able to see basically every scheme there is and also be able to handle the diversity,” Rourke said.
“Being able to be a Canadian player, knowing that I’m able to motivate and help the younger generation in showing that you can excel at different levels. Hopefully I can be a good role model to a lot of aspiring Canadians.”
Indiana travels to South Bend, Ind. for a first-round CFP matchup with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
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