Correction appended.
Nathan Rourke took the news as relaxed as ever.
He was just told by quarterbacks coach Scott Isphording that he would start at quarterback for the upcoming game against Kansas, but there was a calmness about Rourke. Instead of excitement, he showed poise and control.
Instead of nervousness, he took the news in stride like it was any other meeting. But it wasn’t just any other news — Rourke would start on national TV in a matter of days against a Big 12 team.
And it only took two games.
“That’s kind of been my thing, I’ve been the guy who’s tried to pump up his teammates — I try to do that, have some energy still,” Rourke said. “But I play better when I’m calm and collected.”
Through three games, he’s 33-of-49 passing. He’s thrown for 435 yards and three touchdowns. He’s also rushed for 83 yards and four touchdowns.
“I definitely played pretty well in my standards,” Rourke said. “Coach Izzy (Isphording) would tell you the exact same thing, but we’ve got some things to work on and that was evident in film today when we went over the game from Kansas.”
Rourke started the season as the backup quarterback, behind then-starter Quinton Maxwell. After a 1-of-6 statline from Maxwell to open the game against Purdue, Rourke entered. He never left.
He finished the game 16-of-23 for 211 yards passing and a boatload of missed tackles. All night long, he ducked under linebacker’s arms, spun out of defensive tackle’s grasps and kept plays alive.
But perhaps the most impressive part of those escapes was that he never appeared worried. The play was never dead with the ball in Rourke’s hands.
“The other thing you saw when he scrambled was that he never seemed to panic,” coach Frank Solich said. “He was still able to move when he was under pressure, which allowed to get him out of some tight situations and find receivers down field. It comes back to being instinctive and I think he has a lot of that in him."
Three weeks ago, Ohio was prepared to face Hampton with a declared starting quarterback, one the coaching staff was confident in. Maxwell, who split time last year with Greg Windham, would earn the first and second starts.
After just two games, however, the coaching staff had seen all they needed. The sophomore quarterback from Oakville, Ontario, was the new starter.
“To say that I expected it (this soon) would probably not be true,” Isphording said with a smile. “But that was certainly a part of the reason we went after him as hard as we did. I think we certainly had hopes that he was going to come in and have a chance to make plays early.”
The escapability is the most prevalent attribute, what everyone notices on the surface level of dissecting Rourke’s game. His passes, however, seem to always find their target. The speed option plays look stuffed, until he pitches the ball at the last second. In general, the offense runs smooth with Rourke at the controls. The off-script moments are just a bonus.
“We spend hours upon hours out here trying to perfect this game that you can’t perfect,” Isphording said. “At some point, the players have got to make plays. Fortunately when things haven’t been perfect, he’s been able to make a play.”
That’s one of the reasons that Rourke has been named the starting quarterback for the Eastern Michigan game on Saturday.
Maxwell will still play this season, but for the time being, it won’t be in a starting role. For now, Ohio has found a quarterback that extends plays, leads drives and scores points.
It’s fair to question whether or not his blood pressure rises when he does it, too.
“I’m hoping that once I start getting perfect, games are darn near close to perfect, I can make an even bigger impact,” Rourke said. “That’s what makes me really excited.”
Correction: A previous version of the photo caption incorrectly stated the date of the game. The caption has been reflected to update the correct information.
