New 49ers quarterback Kurtis Rourke played his final season of college football with a torn ACL.
He strapped a bulky brace onto his right knee and still suited up for 12 games, and led Indiana to its winningest season in 126 years and a spot in the College Football Playoff.
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WATCH HERERourke underwent reconstructive surgery in January.
“We’re in a situation where we could take him and I think he would've gone a lot higher if he was healthy,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said.
The 49ers selected Rourke in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft at No. 227 overall.
“We took him with the understanding that he's not going to likely be cleared until training camp,” 49ers general manager John Lynch said. “But we just felt like there was a lot of talent, a lot of ability. The guy plays the game the right way.
“You can't have enough good quarterbacks, and [we] wanted to add him to the mix and we were able to do it in the seventh round and excited to do so.”
San Francisco 49ers
Rourke joins a quarterback room that includes Brock Purdy and backup Mac Jones. Tanner Mordecai, who spent last season on the practice squad, is in line to be the No. 3 quarterback.
“I thought it was just a very good valuable pick for us, for a guy who might not be ready for another year, because I think he's about seven months out because he got it [surgery] done after the season," Shanahan said.
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SIGN UP Rourke (6-foot-4, 220 pounds) completed 69.4 percent of his pass attempts for 3,042 yards and 29 touchdowns with five interceptions. He entered college in 2019 at the University of Ohio, where he spent five years before transferring to Indiana.
“Kurtis Rourke is an older guy, so he’s been on the radar for a while,” 49ers director of player personnel Tariq Ahmad said. “I love the vision. I love the way that he plays the game. He plays quarterback at a very high level, processing, his mind. He throws on time. He throws with vision. He’s got all the ability to make every single throw in the pocket. There’s a lot to like about him.”
In his final three years of college football, Rourke's teams went a combined 31-9.
“He’s a winner," 49ers director of scouting and football operations Josh Williams said. "He won at the University of Ohio. He won at Indiana.
"He sees the field well. He’s pretty accurate. He’s tough. He played with a torn ACL. He showed his toughness there. He’s a guy we’re excited about.”
