Curt Cignetti reveals why he wanted Kurtis Rourke to be Indiana's quarterback

After taking the Indiana Work, Curt Cignetti declared himself the winner and has done more than enough to back up his words. IU is 6-0 for the first time since 1967, making it one of three remaining undefeated teams in the Big Ten. Quarterback play was a big part of the Hooisers' success, led by Kurtis Rourke.

Rourke, another first-year senior at Bloomington, is in his sixth season of college football. The previous five were at Ohio but Rourke decided to enter that NCAA Transfer Portal this offseason. Cignetti knew he would need a quarterback, and when he first heard about Rourke, he did what anyone else would do.

“When you have a guy like that, he's in the portal,” Cignetti began on Wednesday's episode of Andy & Ari On3. “What do I do first? I google him. MAC '22 Player of the Year, career stats. Lots of touchdown passes, very few interceptions. He started a lot of games, won a lot of games, and completed a lot of two-minute drives for touchdowns.

After launching Google, Cignetti turned on the film and saw what Rourke could do with his own eyes. He saw someone who knew how to play quarterback and pointed to the family background, as his older brother Nathan also had great success in the MAC.

When Indiana brought him to campus to visit, she knew they had her man, and the Hoosiers have been enjoying life ever since.

“When you look at the tape, you see a guy who can make the throws. But you can see on the tape that he just understands how to play quarterback. Some guys are programmed to play quarterback. After we chatted a few times, he came on his official visit, there was no doubt about that. We felt like we could build around him… He’s developed well.”

Rourke threw for 1,755 yards, 14 touchdowns and two interceptions while completing 73.8% of his throws for Indiana. For comparison, Hoosier quarterbacks threw a total of 18 touchdowns throughout the entire 2023 season. Rourke will fly this number when his election campaign is over.

However, a tough test lies ahead next. Nebraska is coming to town for the biggest Indiana football game in a long time. A 7-0 result would continue their great run and perhaps even put them in trouble College Football Playoffs Discussion. Rourke has been a steady hand and hopes to continue on the national stage.