Saskatchewan Roughriders legend Darian Durant approves the Green and White choosing Canadian quarterback Kurtis Rourke in the 2025 CFL Draft.
"I don't think it's an overreach for that position," Durant said on the SportsCage. "He's a great player. He's a ratio-breaker and a guy that can produce."
Rourke started his post-secondary career at Ohio University from 2020 to 2023 then transferred to Indiana University for his senior season. Last year, Rourke played 12 games for the Hoosiers, completing 69.4 percent of his passes for 3,042 yards with 29 touchdowns against five interceptions. He finished ninth in the voting for Heisman Trophy, which is given to the best collegiate athlete in NCAA football.
The San Francisco 49ers selected Rourke in the seventh round, 227th overall during the 2025 NFL Draft.
"I think at some point he'll definitely be up in the CFL given the quarterback class that he came out in and the amount of good players in that class, it's going to be tough for him to crack a roster with the big names and the guys that were drafted ahead of him," Durant said. "You look at the class he came out with, there are so many good quarterbacks and it'll be hard for him to crack an NFL roster over those guys."
After he was picked in the NFL Draft, Riders’ general manager Jeremy O'Day selected Rourke in the third round, 25th overall during the CFL Draft.
"I hear a lot of people say they should have waited longer," O'Day said to the SportsCage. "I know that Toronto had two picks early on in the first part of the fourth round. You think with an extra pick that might be a team that might take him. Whether we ever see him or not, it's a risk that we're willing to take. We feel comfortable that you can go into next year's draft and get good players. Then also there are a lot of Canadians that are available in free agency. We like the idea if he ever does come to Canada, we have his rights and we'll have the first crack at him."
In other news, the Riders recently unveiled the Plaza of Honour Class for 2025. Two of them were Durant's old co-workers, Chris Best and Alex Smith Sr.
"To see Chris come in and especially him being from Duke and, if you're from the States, you know, that North Carolina and Duke, we just don't get along, but just to see him grow and just to see what he turned into the monster of an offensive lineman, the beast that he was, man, I couldn't be, more proud of Chris," Durant said.
"Alex senior, what a guy, the nicest guy you'll ever want to be around. A testament of longevity, not always going for the shinier position, but wanting to stay somewhere where you're comfortable, he's a prime example of loyalty. So to see some guys that I worked with, some colleagues of mine go in, it's amazing."
