Kurtis Rourke injury: Indiana QB reportedly played through ACL tear in 2024 playoff season
Indiana football quarterback Kurtis Rourke played a huge role in the Hoosiers' run this season, finishing ninth in Heisman Trophy voting despite facing multiple hardships throughout the schedule.
First, the one-year rental transfer from Ohio suffered a thumb injury to his throwing hand against Nebraska, which required surgery and kept him out of Indiana's matchup with Washington. The second, which seems notably worse, was he reportedly played the entire season with a torn ACL in his knee.
Rourke reportedly re-tore his ACL in August, according to his agent Casey Muir via NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. Rourke played with a brace on his right knee throughout the entire season, but it didn't appear to slow him down for the Hoosiers' College Football Playoff run.
Rourke still managed to have a career season, playing himself onto the NFL draft radar after completing 222 of 320 passes (69.4%) for 3,042 yards with a career-high 29 touchdowns to five interceptions, en route to being named a second-team all-Big Ten selection behind Oregon's Dilllon Gabriel.
The 6-foot-5 quarterback spent the first five seasons of his collegiate career at Ohio, where he started games across four seasons and threw for 47 touchdowns. Rourke initially tore his ACL in 2022 with the Bobcats.
He was much more mobile for Ohio, rushing for over 200 yards in each of his three seasons as the full-time starter with 11 rushing touchdowns during his tenure. His reported ACL injury might've explained his lack of mobility at Indiana, as he finished the season with negative-35 rushing yards in 2024.
Rourke ended his career by leading the Hoosiers to a historic CFP appearance, where they fell to No. 7 Notre Dame 27-17 on the road. Rourke completed 20 of 33 passes for 215 yards with two touchdowns to an interception, which is impressive given all things considered this season.