Ohio’s 2022 season is just around the corner. With kickoff against Florida Atlantic less than two weeks away, it’s time to take a look at Ohio’s roster headed into year two under head coach Tim Albin.
The Post will be previewing each position group for the Bobcats daily in the lead-up to this season. Up first: the quarterbacks.
Who’s Gone
Ohio only had one departure at the quarterback position from last year’s roster, but it was a big one. Armani Rogers, who appeared in all 12 games for Ohio last season, took his talents to the NFL. He went undrafted and signed with the Washington Commanders as a tight end.
As the position switch may suggest, Rogers didn’t do much passing for the Bobcats last year. He had only 49 total attempts across the 12 games he played, good for about four attempts per game. He was a significant rushing threat, however, with 618 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. The running game is where his absence will be most significantly felt.
Who’s Back
Ohio returns three quarterbacks from last year’s roster. The lineup includes Kadin Beler and CJ Harris, a pair of redshirt sophomores out of Phoenix, Arizona, and West Bloomfield, Michigan, respectively. Neither one threw a pass for Ohio last season.
The biggest returning name is Kurtis Rourke, who was the Bobcats’ main passer last year. In 10 games, he completed 65.3% of his passes for 1801 yards, 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Rourke provided the passing component in the dual-quarterback system the Bobcats utilized for much of last season, but he did still offer a threat with his legs as the team’s third-leading rusher.
Who’s New
There are two new quarterbacks on Ohio’s roster this year, one coming from the transfer portal and another from this year’s incoming freshman class.
The transfer is redshirt freshman Parker Navarro, who spent last season at the University of Central Florida. Navarro appeared in five games and completed one pass for four yards while rushing for 54 yards and three touchdowns. The other new quarterback is Callum Wither, a freshman out of Mississauga, Ontario.
Position Outlook
Albin all but confirmed at Mid-American Conference media day that Rourke would be the starter, which makes sense because he is the only player on this roster with more than two college passing attempts. However, Albin also said that the Bobcats would need more out of the quarterbacks than they got last year, so Rourke’s position is by no means secure.
Rourke flashed his talents as both a passer and a runner last year but wasn’t strong enough in either role to win the starting job for good. It will be interesting to see whether Rourke assimilates the role, or if he was just the next man up after Rogers’ departure.
Rourke will have a lot to live up to, as his older brother Nathan was the last quarterback to lead Ohio to a bowl game during the 2019 season. It remains to be seen if Kurtis will be the next, but he may have the opportunity to do so.
