Oakville, Ontario native chosen as top Canadian in U.S. college football

Kurtis Rourke, quarterback of the Indiana Hoosiers, has been awarded the Jon Cornish Trophy as the top Canadian in U.S. college football.

Rourke, 24, led the Hoosiers to the college football playoffs but lost to Notre Dame by a score of 27-17 last Friday (Dec. 20).

He attended Holy Trinity Catholic Secondary School in the River Oaks area of Oakville.

His brother Nathan, currently with the Canadian Football League’s B.C. Lions, won the award twice in 2017 and 2018 at Ohio.

After receiving the award Rourke said he is proud to follow in his brother’s footsteps.

“It’s awesome,” Rourke said. “Kind of getting introduced to the Jon Cornish Trophy back when Nathan won it a couple of times, I wanted to be able to have a shot and it was one of my goals to be in the conversation, be in the running.

“It just means a ton to be recognized just because Canadian athletes don’t get recognized too often. I’m just so glad we’re able to get that recognition and continue to do it for our country.”

Jett Elad of Mississauga, a senior safety at UNLV, also was in the running for the award.

Rourke was credited for reviving Indiana’s football program and leading the team to the playoffs after going 11-2 on the season.

He finished the year completing 222 of 320 passes for 3,042 yards with 29 touchdown passes and five interceptions.

– with files from The Canadian Press