Ex-BC Lions QB Rourke earns high praise from his new NFL head coach

Nathan Rourke continues to turn heads through his first few weeks in the NFL.

The former BC Lions quarterback went 10 for 12 for 121 yards in limited preseason action for the Jacksonville Jaguars yesterday, helping lead the team to a 25-7 victory over the Detroit Lions.

Through two games, Rourke has gone 19 of 29 for 274 yards, including a highlight reel touchdown pass to Qadree Ollison in his debut against the Dallas Cowboys last week. NFL Preseason standings don’t mean much — of course — but his Jaguars are 2-0 in those two contests.

And it appears his strong play thus far has been impressing the most important person for any quarterback — his head coach.

“I just like his poise, his poise in the pocket,” Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said yesterday, per SI.com’s Daniel Griffis. “Accurate passer, I’m sure there’s some throws he wants back, but for the most part, he’s an accurate thrower. He made a heck of a throw, a couple of back shoulder throws on the sideline, a slant throw on a third down, and the toughness aspect of it. He’s not afraid to pull the ball down and run. Those are all things that I appreciate about him and the effort and leadership that he provides,”

But despite his early impressive returns, Rourke hasn’t quite nailed down the backup job two games into his NFL career. Pederson shot down that Rourke would be their No.2 QB next month’s regular season, as he slots in third on the depth chart behind Trevor Lawrence and C.J. Beathard.

“No, no. I thought Nathan [QB Nathan Rourke] did well again today, a couple of touchdown drives there, and he’s done a nice job. He’s done exactly what we ask him to do. C.J. [QB C.J. Beathard] is our number two, and Trevor [QB Trevor Lawrence] is number one,” added Pederson.