Keep An Eye On Canada’s Rourke Brothers At Ohio
When top Holy Trinity prospect Kurtis Rourke committed to OhioĀ and join his older brother Nathan, the MAC program became the one to watch for many Canadian football fans with an eye on the NCAA. Itās relatively rare to see two siblings on the same NCAA team, particularly when theyāre both playing the same position. And while Nathan Rourke remains the bigger story at Ohio, there may be reason to keep an eye on both brothers as the season unfolds at Ohio.
For his part, Nathan Rourke turned in an amazing season in 2018, leading a high-powered offense and asserting himself as possibly the best offensive player in the MAC. It was enough to turn heads among Canadian and American fans enough, and led to Ohio being among the MAC favorites for 2019. This doesnāt get quite as much attention because the MAC isnāt a so-called āpower conference,ā but sports betting sites onlineĀ had the Bobcats pegged with top odds to finish first in the conferenceās East Division, and possibly on top overall.
So far though, Ohio has failed to meet the fairly lofty expectations set heading into the season. Nathan Rourke, whoās now known to many as āAir Canada,ā was recognized as the best player in the MACĀ heading into the year, and is on NFL Draft websitesā radar as a potential late-round pick. And while Rourke has been good so far in 2019, he hasnāt quite been as great as weāve come to expect. The rushing has been there, and is ultimately what most sets Rourke apart. But the Bobcatsā inability to protect their quarterback (heās been sacked nine times through four games) has kept him from being as dominant as he can be.
As a result of this and poor defense, Ohio is off to an unexpectedly poor 1-3 start. Those four games have all been played outside of the MAC, so thereās still an opportunity for the Bobcats to right the ship and establish themselves atop the Eastern Division. If, however, things continue to go poorly, itās conceivable that we could start to see both Rourke brothers in action. Thatās not to suggest that Nathan wonāt continue to start – he will, barring injury. But if a MAC title isnāt as well within reach as was expected, Ohio could choose to start getting a look at the younger Rourke brother now and then.
So far, red-shirt freshman Joe Mischler has handled the minimal QB work not done by Nathan Rourke. But he and Kurtis Rourke have been in open competition for the backup role, and particularly if the games get less important, the team would do well to give some reps to the younger Canadian brother. It would protect Nathan for his likely NFL future, and perhaps set up Kurtis to follow in his brotherās footsteps.
Even if this doesnāt wind up being the case though, Ohio is a team to watch for those who track Canadian prospects. Nathan Rourke has become one of the most successful NCAA players to come out of Canada in quite some time.
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