While 22-year-old Nathan Rourke may now call Oakville, Ont. home, his routes back to B.C. are strong.
The Ohio University graduate and two time NCAA Canadian player of the year was born in Victoria, and will return to his home province as a member of the B.C. Lions.
That’s because Rourke was drafted 15th overall by the Lions in this year’s CFL Draft.
The young quarterback was only two when he moved back to Ontario with his family.
While he might not have spent a lot of time on the rock, when it came to sports teams growing up, instead of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Argonauts, it was the Vancouver Canucks and B.C. Lions.
“Whenever it came to like following Canadian teams, we were always going for the teams in B.C., and that just carried over to the CFL as well,” he said. “I don’t know if that’s cause everyone here are Leafs fans or Argos fans, but we were definitely recognizing where we were from, and the fact we have so much family here, or there in B.C. and we’re honouring that.”
Now the star division one player is set to suit up at B.C. Place stadium as a member of the same team he idolized as a kid.
The news came as a relief for Rourke, who missed out on last week’s NFL Draft.
“The fact that it all came together and the fact that we were going to B.C., which is obviously special for us, but then obviously going into a good situation is great to. So the combination of both those factors was great for us.”
Rourke leaves Ohio University as one of the school’s best quarterbacks. He led his team to the win in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl this season, and threw for 60 touchdowns over three seasons.
He joins former quarterback Jesse Palmer as the highest-drafted Canadian QB in CFL history, according to CFL.ca.
Cole Sorenson
