Indiana had a plan to get Kurtis Rourke ready to play and it worked

EAST LANSING, Mich. – After Indiana’s 47-10 win over Michigan State, Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke admitted he thought his thumb injury – a layoff as he told the media after the game – would keep him out longer than it has. .

“They took an x-ray. Again, I still thought it was the fingernail because I had never broken anything in my hand before. But until that moment that was not the case. I thought (the missed time) would last longer, but I was really lucky with how it turned out,” Rourke said.

As it turned out, Indiana was able to get Rourke to practice early in the week, and it was decided relatively early that Indiana would try to play him against the Spartans.

“I think I knew on Monday, maybe Tuesday that he could start. Each day got better than the day before in terms of his speed, execution and accuracy,” Indiana coach Curt Cignetti said.

It was a process.

Rourke had a splint on his fingernail to protect him from contact. Rourke said his thumb is still swollen from the injury he suffered against Nebraska on Oct. 19, but one trick helped him get the grip he wanted and the comfort level he wanted.

“I had a few things. I had a splint to cover my nail to prevent anything from bending backwards. Then I cut off a glove to cover my thumb for extra grip,” Rourke said.

“I was trying to figure out ways to throw the right way and stuff. My thumb is quite swollen, and still is, so I needed one last bit of grip. I needed something that was sticky enough that I could play with, but also didn’t interfere with throwing the ball,” Rourke added.

Part of Rourke’s ability to play came from his desire to do so. It would have been an easy choice to err on the side of caution and try to wait a week to play, but the transfer quarterback from Ohio University wanted to be on the field.

Still, Rourke knew he couldn’t make a hasty decision. Throughout the week, he had to ask himself if he was trying too hard or just right to make the team better as he played.

“It was honest every day, multiple times a day, with the coaching staff, the coaches, but more importantly, with myself,” Rourke said. “The main thing I wanted to do was not endanger the team. Obviously (Tayven Jackson) did a great job, he did a great job last week, I knew the team would be in good hands.

“I wanted to make sure I was at my best to help the team. And then slowly progress and see how I felt every day,” Rourke added.

Cignetti said he also had to put his trust in Rourke. The quarterback position is so important in terms of the tone it sets for everyone on the team. Cignetti knows that, and his decision-making process was influenced accordingly.

Cignetti was asked as he made a final decision on whether to play Rourke.

“At some point I decided to believe in our team, and that’s what you have to do as a head coach and leader,” Cignetti said. “You have to believe in our team and attack, attack, attack and they will feed off that.”

Rourke was injured throwing to EJ Williams in the Nebraska game. He initially thought it was a fingernail problem as he was bleeding after the injury. He initially played it through the remainder of the first half, but an X-ray at half-time revealed a break.

“It broke on impact. I thought it was a nail because it was bleeding so heavily. It turned out to be just the bone in the end and when it broke it (the nail) got messed up. It hurt a lot, but I’ve had fingernail problems before,” Rourke said.

Rourke noted he was sore during Saturday’s game against Michigan State. Whatever pain he was in, he could handle it well. Rourke completed 19 of 29 passes for 263 yards and four touchdown passes.

“I had a few things going (before the match) that minimized the pain starting the match. It was definitely painful with every throw, but I knew it was coming and it was something to play through. You don’t get a lot of opportunities to play football,” Rourke said.