Ohio prepared to move with new QB despite relatively optimistic report on Rourke

Things were looking bleak during the 32-18 win over Ball State on Tuesday and we’re not just talking about the weather.

Kurtis Rourke fell awkwardly after taking a hit in the pocket in the second quarter and was forced to leave the game.

The next time we saw him, the star quarterback was limping his way down the sidelines out of the half with ice draped around his knee. It didn’t look good as Ohio metaphorically limps into a win-and-in scenario, but our first update since the game should allow OU fans to breathe a sigh of relief, sort of.

Head Coach Tim Albin went in to his weekly press conference on Thursday fully expecting to hear questions regarding Rourke’s injury, which he gave a small update on.

“I obviously saw him yesterday. He was able to put weight on it [the right leg] and there’s no swelling. No crutches, you saw that on the sideline. Is it second-degree? Third-degree? I don’t know at this time but I know we’re going to know more. We don’t practice today, so Friday is when we’ll get back on the field and I’ll know more by then.

“Kurtis’ spirits are good. He was at the volleyball game last night and it wouldn’t surprise me if he’s at the basketball game tonight… He better not be walking around on it too much tonight,” Albin quipped while joking. “We’ll see where it’s at.”

It wasn’t a clear declaration that Rourke avoided serious injury and that everything is going to be fine, but it sure could’ve sounded a lot worse.

Albin seemed cautiously optimistic when speaking about his quarterback. They seemingly avoided total disaster and made it seem like Kurtis wouldn’t guarantee to be out for next week and the immediate future. Still though, there was no guarantee that he was totally okay and progressing toward playing the ever-so-important game next Tuesday.

It’ll be a day-by-day scenario to see how Rourke is healing but the initial diagnosis is far better than the doomsday scenario everyone envisioned on Tuesday night.

If it comes down to it and Rourke is unable to play in the final week of the regular season, Ohio will turn to CJ Harris as their play caller. It’s obviously not the same as having arguably one of the best collegiate quarterbacks in the nation leading your offense, but Albin and his staff still feel as if Harris will give them every opportunity to win.

“He’s been here since January of ‘19, before COVID. He didn’t get to go through spring practice because of the pandemic, but he’s been here,” Albin noted in his press conference. “He’s got thousands of reps in our offense. It’s been very comforting to be in this position. He doesn’t have the game experience, but he knows the offense and the team believes in him. You saw that in the second half.”

Ohio still feels comfortable with Harris at quarterback, but they’d be open to admitting that they’d prefer if Rourke could get back to the field next week.

Thursday’s update doesn’t necessarily spark ultimate confidence that Rourke will be ready by next week, but the first update could’ve been a whole lot worse.