Canadian quarterback Kurtis Rourke has accepted an invitation to attend the 2025 East-West Shrine Bowl, putting him front and centre for NFL scouts alongside other elite prospects.
The six-foot-five, 230-pound passer completed 70.4 percent of his passes for 2,827 yards, 27 touchdowns, and four interceptions over 11 starts this season for No. 9 Indiana, going 10-1. He is coming off his best performance of the season as he threw a record six touchdown passes in a 66-0 win over the Purdue Boilermakers and was recently named second-team All-Big Ten.
The native of Oakville, Ont. transferred to the Hoosiers this past season to boost his stock in the 2025 NFL Draft. He previously spent five years at Ohio University where he completed 66.3 percent of his passes for 7,651 yards, 50 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions. In 2022, he won Mid-American Conference (MAC) MVP, MAC Offensive Player of the Year, and was named first-team All-MAC. In 2023, he was second-team All-MAC despite suffering a torn ACL.
Rourke, who is the younger brother of B.C. Lions’ quarterback Nathan Rourke, is the top-ranked prospect in the 2025 CFL Draft but is expected to be selected in the mid-to-late rounds of the NFL Draft. The only two other quarterbacks to have accepted Shrine Bowl invites thus far are Syracuse’s Kyle McCord and Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders, the latter of whom is expected to be the top QB taken in the draft.
The oldest college football all-star game in existence, thousands of East-West Shrine Bowl alumni have gone on to play in the NFL over the past century, including 78 who are enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Last year, two Canadians, Kyle Hergel and Anim Dankwah, used the game as a springboard to undrafted free agent opportunities, while Toronto Argonauts’ defensive back Qwan’tez Stiggers translated his unique chance to participate into being drafted by the New York Jets.
The 100th East-West Shrine Bowl is scheduled to be played on Thursday, January 30 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Tex. In the meantime, Rourke and the Hoosiers await their shot in the 12-team College Football Playoff, with matchups and seeding set to be announced on Sunday, December 8.
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