‘He’ll be good to go for the NFL’: Curt Cignetti is confident that Kurtis Rourke’s ACL injury won’t impact his path to the league

Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti joined Pete Thamel on the ESPN College GameDay Podcast this week, diving deep into the timeline of quarterback Kurtis Rourke’s knee injury throughout the season.

As Rourke entered the NFL Draft process, it was revealed that he had played the season on a torn ACL.

Cignetti went through the season, talking on times he could recall Rourke banging up his knee.

“He tweaked his knee a little bit in July doing a change of direction drill. We MRI’d it and it was all good. He did wear the brace in fall camp and during the season.”

The initial knee injury which came over the summer was just the start for a reoccurring issue for Rourke, who had initially tore his ACL on the same leg in 2022, while he was with Ohio.

Cignetti revealed Rourke re-injured his knee during the regular season and again in the College Football Playoffs.

“He did tweak his knee at the end of the Purdue game a little bit. Not a whole lot was made of it. When they went in after the Notre Dame game, they found a few things that were not present during the season.”

Despite Rourke sustaining knee injuries in the final two games of the season, Cignetti is confident in Rourke’s ability going forward.

“I give him a lot of credit, he had a great year… the knee was a concern throughout the season and I’m glad he got it fixed and he’ll be good to go for the NFL.”

In addition to the knee injury, Rourke also played several games with a thumb injury.

With the various injuries, Rourke finished the season with 3,042 passing yards, 29 touchdowns, five interceptions, holding a QB rating of 85.2.

CBS Sports ranks Rourke as the #7 quarterback in the draft class, while ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. placed Rourke as the #6 quarterback in the class.

The NFL Draft opens up on Thursday, April 24. In the meantime, Rourke will continue to recover and rehab his ACL injury.

SEE ALSO: Chandler Whitmer officially announced as new addition to Indiana football staff as someone who came ‘very highly recommended’

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