Kurtis Rourke & Experience among Big Ten QBs

We know Kurtis Rourke brings experience to Bloomington, but how much experience exactly? And how does Indiana compare with the 17 other teams in this context?

The Big Ten’s collective QB position is in a strange spot this offseason. Only JJ McCarthy, Drew Allar, and Taulia Tagovailoa – of the starting QBs from the original 14 teams – finished the season healthy and in the top-half of Power 5 QBs, but two of those QBs’ teams (Michigan and Penn State) finished as the 79th and 82nd most productive passing offenses in the nation. Maryland (22nd), Ohio State (31st; QB now at Syracuse), and Illinois (36th; seven games with a Ball State QB) were the top-3 passing offenses by a significant margin in 2023, and only 5 Big Ten teams finished in the top-80. Adding Oregon (1st), Washington (2nd), and USC (5th) into the mix boosts passing firepower offensively, but each of them is going through transition at QB this offseason, and UCLA lost its best QB to back up at Oregon. 

When considering all 18 Big Ten teams, the conference has lost the No. 2 (Bo Nix), No. 7 (Mike Penix), No. 10 (McCarthy), No. 11 (Caleb Williams), No. 24 (Tanner Mordecai), No. 31 (Tagovailoa), and No. 40 (Kyle McCord) QBs, according to PFF. All are in the process of being replaced. Penn State’s Drew Allar – graded No. 17 by PFF – is the best QB returning to his 2023 team in the conference. Additionally, at least 9 projected starters for 2024 were acquired via the transfer portal.

It’s a mess that’s tough to wrap your head around, but places like 247Sports, The Sporting News, and Saturday Tradition have done their best to rank the QBs heading into the summer.

A quick Power Ranking of the top-10 favored starting QBs according to their FBS 2023 PFF Offensive Grades (and no snaps requirement) is as follows:

1. Dillon Gabriel (Oregon) – 91.9

2. Miller Moss (USC) – 90.7

3. Drew Allar (Penn State) – 86.3

4. Tyler Van Dyke (Wisconsin) – 85.9

5. Kurtis Rourke (Indiana) – 78.9

6. Will Howard (Ohio State) – 78.1

7. Ethan Garbers (UCLA) – 77.7

8. Will Rogers (Washington) – 77.3

9. Hudson Card (Purdue) – 74.7

10. Aidan Chiles (Michigan State) – 71.9

So what does Kurtis Rourke bring in all of this mess? Well, I highly recommend you read the deep-dive I did on Rourke, which showed his numbers compared to previous IU QBs and also how this staff elevated each JMU QB over the years. But, today, we’re looking at his experience.