SURREY, B.C. — Playing in the NFL has long been Nathan Rourke’s dream.
Days after inking a deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars, though, the Canadian quarterback is still processing the monumental move.
“I’m still here in B.C. and I’m still living in my parents house,” Rourke told reporters Tuesday. “When I get down there, I think it will sink in a little bit more.”
The last few months have been an exhausting journey for the for the Victoria-born 24 year old.
Shortly after guiding the B.C. Lions to the playoffs in November, Rourke embarked on an extended tour that saw him work out for a dozen NFL clubs. Weeks of zigzagging the continent and talking contracts ended Sunday when he signed a rookie deal with the Jaguars.
“It was fun for me to be able to see different buildings and meet different people and travel to some cities in the U.S. that I haven’t been to before. That was all fun,” he said. “But the evaluation process is kind of brutal. And I’m glad that it’s over and I’m going to a place where I feel wanted.”
After being passed over in the 2021 NFL draft, Rourke joined the Lions, who selected him 15th overall in the 2020 CFL draft.
The six-foot-two, 209-pound Ohio product spent the 2021 campaign backing up Michael Reilly before taking over as starter in a stunning campaign last season.
He quickly captured attention, throwing for 3,349 yards — including three performances with more than 400 yards — with 25 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 10 regular-season appearances. He added 304 yards on the ground with seven rushing TDs.
A foot injury that required surgery halted his campaign in August, but Rourke returned in the Lions’ regular-season finale, then led the 12-6 team to a 30-16 victory over the Calgary Stampeders in the West Division semifinal. B.C. ultimately fell 28-20 to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the West final.
While Rourke worked out for 12 NFL clubs, there were others that called to inquire. The final decision was between Jacksonville, the Las Vegas Raiders and the Cleveland Browns.
“Ultimately it came down to the opportunity to be able to compete to be the No. 2 and to be one play away,” he said. “And that was big for us.”
The Canadian QB heard plenty of advice as he assessed his options, including some words of wisdom from fellow CFL alumnus Henry Burris.
The three-time Grey Cup champion and Canadian Football Hall of Famer also played in both the CFL and NFL, and now works as an offensive quality control coach in Jacksonville.
“He went through this himself and he said if he could do it again, he would have liked to have stayed in the CFL just because of his timing and the situation that he went down to,” Rourke said.
“He said that the situation wasn’t right for him, but if there’s a situation that’s right, where I can see a chance to be able to play at some point, then to take it. That’s what I’m doing.”
Jacksonville already has a solid starter in Trevor Lawrence, taken first overall in the 2021 NFL draft. Rourke said he’s not looking to compete with the 23-year-old native of Knoxville, Tenn., for the No. 1 spot.
“I think (Lawrence is) a fantastic quarterback,” he said. “I wish him nothing but the best this year and I’ll be there to support him next year.
“But my job is to create a job for myself down there. And you never know what happens — you play well in the pre-season, another team could like you and you go from there. But I think going down there and being a part of that process is the best way to solidify a job in the future.”
While playing in his home province has been “truly special,” Rourke said continuing to play in the CFL simply wouldn’t provide the opportunities he’s dreamt of since childhood.
“I think that being on an NFL team and getting NFL film, whether it’s pre-season or regular season is really important to be able to solidify yourself as an NFL starter,” he said. “I don’t think it’s happening if you’re playing another year in the CFL. I just don’t.
“And I think that the goal right now is to be in a position where I’m a play away from playing.”
Leading a CFL team did teach the young quarterback valuable lessons, like how to be a professional and prepare every week.
The 2022 Lions’ team was special, Rourke said, and will stick with him, no matter where he ends up.
“It’s a group that I’m not going to forget any time soon,” he said. “I think that they’ve kind of raised my expectations in terms of what a CFL or a professional locker room should be like — how well you should feel, and how you should feel for your teammates, and how bought in you should be, and how you should come to work every single day. This group has really set that precedent for me.
“So I think throughout my career I’m going to be looking at this group and being like, ‘This is where the bar is set.’ And I’m really, really fortunate for that part of it.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 17, 2023.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — DeMar DeRozan scored 27 points in a record-setting performance and the Sacramento Kings beat the Toronto Raptors 122-107 on Wednesday night.
Domantas Sabonis added 17 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds for his third triple-double of the season for Sacramento. He shot 6 for 6 from the field and 5 for 5 at the free-throw line.
Keegan Murray chipped in with 22 points and 12 rebounds, and De’Aaron Fox scored 21.
The 35-year-old DeRozan has scored at least 20 points in each of his first eight games with the Kings, breaking a franchise mark established by Chris Webber when he reached 20 in his first seven games with Sacramento in 1999.
DeRozan spent the past three seasons with the Chicago Bulls. The six-time All-Star also has played for Toronto and San Antonio during his 16-year NBA career.
RJ Barrett had 23 points to lead the Raptors. Davion Mitchell scored 20 in his first game in Sacramento since being traded to Toronto last summer.
Takeaways
Raptors: Toronto led for most of the first three quarters before wilting in the fourth. The Raptors were outscored 33-14 in the final period.
Kings: Fox played strong defense but struggled again shooting from the floor as he is dealing with a finger injury. Fox went 5 for 17 and just 2 of 8 on 3-pointers. He is 5 for 25 from beyond the arc in his last three games.
Key moment
The Kings trailed 95-89 early in the fourth before going on a 9-0 run that gave them the lead for good. DeRozan started the spurt with a jumper, and Malik Monk scored the final seven points.
Key stat
Sabonis had the eighth game in the NBA since at least 1982-83 with a triple-double while missing no shots from the field or foul line. The previous player to do it was Josh Giddey for Oklahoma City against Portland on Jan. 11.
Up next
Raptors: At the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night, the third stop on a five-game trip.
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Whitecaps are one win away from moving on to the next round of the Major League Soccer playoffs.
To get there, however, the Whitecaps will need to pull off the improbable by defeating the powerhouse Los Angeles FC for a second straight game.
Vancouver blanked the visitors 3-0 on Sunday to level their best-of-three first-round playoff series at a game apiece. As the matchup shifts back to California for a decisive Game 3 on Friday, the Whitecaps are looking for a repeat performance, said striker Brian White.
“We take the good and the bad from last game, learn from what we could have done better and go to LAFC with confidence and, obviously, with a whole lot of respect,” he said.
“We know that we can go there and give them a very good fight and hopefully come away with a win.”
The winner of Friday’s game will face the No. 4-seed Seattle Sounders in a one-game Western Conference semifinal on Nov. 23 or 24.
The ‘Caps finished the regular season eighth in the west with a 13-13-8 record and have since surprised many with their post-season play.
First, Vancouver trounced its regional rivals, the Portland Timbers, 5-0 in a wild-card game. Then, the squad dropped a tightly contested 2-1 decision to the top-seeded L.A. before posting a decisive home victory on Sunday.
Vancouver has scored seven goals this post-season, second only to the L.A. Galaxy (nine). Vancouver also leads the league in expected goals (6.84) through the playoffs.
No one outside of the club expected the Whitecaps to win when the Vancouver-L. A. series began, said defender Ranko Veselinovic.
“We’ve shown to ourselves that we can compete with them,” he said.
Now in his fifth season with the ‘Caps, Veselinovic said Friday’s game will be the biggest he’s played for the team.
“We haven’t had much success in the playoffs so, definitely, this is the one that can put our season on another level,” he said.
This is the second year in a row the Whitecaps have faced LAFC in the first round of the playoffs and last year, Vancouver was ousted in two straight games.
The team isn’t thinking about revenge as it prepares for Game 3, White said.
“More importantly than (beating LAFC), we want to get to the next round,” he said. “LAFC’s a very good team. We’ve come up against them a number of times in different competitions and they always seem to get the better of us. So it’d be huge for us to get the better of them this time.”
Earning a win last weekend required slowing L.A.’s transition game and limiting offensive opportunities for the team’s big stars, including Denis Bouanga.
Those factors will be important again on Friday, said Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini, who warned that his team could face a different style of game.
“I think the most important thing is going to be to match their intensity at the beginning of the game,” he said. “Because I think they’re going to come at us a million miles per hour.”
The ‘Caps will once again look to captain Ryan Gauld for some offensive firepower. The Scottish attacking midfielder leads MLS in playoff goals with five and has scored in all three of Vancouver’s post-season appearances this year.
Gearing up for another do-or-die matchup is exciting, Gauld said.
“Knowing it’s a winner-takes-all kind of game, being in that kind of environment is nice,” he said. “It’s when you see the best in players.”
LAFC faces the bulk of the pressure heading into the matchup, Sartini said, given the club’s appearances in the last two MLS Cup finals and its 2022 championship title.
“They’re supposed to win and we are not,” the coach said. “But it’s beautiful to have a little bit of pressure on us, too.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
Each PWHL team operated under its city name, with players wearing jerseys featuring the league’s logo in its inaugural season before names and logos were announced last month.
The Toronto Sceptres, Montreal Victoire, Ottawa Charge, Boston Fleet, Minnesota Frost and New York Sirens will start the PWHL’s second season on Nov. 30 with jerseys designed to reflect each team’s identity and to be sold to the public as replicas.
Led by PWHL vice-president of brand and marketing Kanan Bhatt-Shah, the league consulted Creative Agency Flower Shop to design the jerseys manufactured by Bauer, the PWHL said Thursday in a statement.
“Players and fans alike have been waiting for this moment and we couldn’t be happier with the six unique looks each team will don moving forward,” said PWHL senior vice president of business operations Amy Scheer.
“These jerseys mark the latest evolution in our league’s history, and we can’t wait to see them showcased both on the ice and in the stands.”
Training camps open Tuesday with teams allowed to carry 32 players.
Each team’s 23-player roster, plus three reserves, will be announced Nov. 27.
Each team will play 30 regular-season games, which is six more than the first season.
Minnesota won the first Walter Cup on May 29 by beating Boston three games to two in the championship series.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
