Trudeau was the starting quarterback of the Illinois Fighting Illini football team from 1983-85, his sophomore through senior years. As a sophomore, he helped the Illini become the first and only Big Ten team to beat all nine conference opponents in a single season. The Illini went to the 1984 Rose Bowl where they lost to UCLA, 45-9. Trudeau earned All-Big Ten honors in 1984 and 1985. He set Illinois school records in pass attempts, completions, yards and touchdowns. He also set an NCAA record with 215 consecutive pass attempts without an interception. In 1984, he finished runner-up to Doug Flutie for the Davey O'Brien Award, given to the top college quarterback in the nation.
During his rookie season, Trudeau started eleven games - all Colts' losses. After splitting time with Gary Hogeboom and Blair Kiel in 1987, Trudeau led the Colts to three wins in their final four games and the franchise's first playoff appearance since moving to Indianapolis in 1984. He started the Colts' 38-21 Wild Card Round loss in Cleveland, throwing two touchdown passes in the defeat. In 1988, he played in just two games as Chris Chandler supplanted him under center. Trudeau had his best season as a pro in 1989, starting twelve games and throwing for career-highs in yards and touchdowns en route to being named the Colts' Offensive MVP. However, in the 1990 NFL Draft, the Colts traded with Atlanta to select Indianapolis native Jeff George with the first overall pick, and George began that next season as the starter. Over the next four seasons, Trudeau made only fourteen more starts and was mostly a backup. Despite some modest success, the fans of Indianapolis never really bonded with Trudeau. During the 1994 season, Trudeau signed with the New York Jets to back up Boomer Esiason. When Esiason went down with an injury early in the season, Trudeau started two games - including one against the Colts, his former team. Trudeau was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the 1995 NFL Expansion Draft to become the third-string quarterback behind Frank Reich and Kerry Collins in the team's inaugural season. After appearing in just one game with Carolina, Trudeau retired following the 1995 season. Trudeau finished his ten-year NFL career with 10,243 passing yards, 42 touchdowns, 69 interceptions, and a 63.3 passer rating in 67 games.
Personal life
He is married to wife, with a daughter and three sons. His brother, Kevin Trudeau, was drafted at age 18 as a pitcher for the New York Yankees organization. Also, after retirement from football, Jack invested to be a co-owner of Wolf Run Golf Club in Indiana.. He was a weekly guest on The Bob and Tom Show, broadcast out of Indianapolis, for many seasons, discussing the Colts and other happenings in the NFL.
Graduation incident 2007
On June 2, 2007, Trudeau was arrested and charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor when he hosted a Park Tudor high school graduation party for his daughter, who was not arrested, but was breathalyzed along with her three younger brothers. Depositions further prove that some of the graduating students brought concealed alcohol into the party. On August 10, 2007, Trudeau was offered a plea agreement, in which he was to accept responsibility for the party. On December 14, 2007, Trudeau and his wife accepted an agreement where they will each have to pay a $2,500 fine. However, neither of them had to plead guilty to their charges.
Radio career
In 2010, Trudeau began hosting a local sports talk morning show with Zakk Tyler on WNDE in Indianapolis. The next year, the show was picked up for national syndication by Fox Sports Radio to replace the departing Stephen A. Smith. The show was cancelled by FSR later that same year, as the pair were replaced by Andy Furman and former NFL defensive backArtrell Hawkins. Trudeau was involved in a controversial exchange in August 2011 with then first-year Indiana Hoosiers football head coach Kevin Wilson. During the interview, Wilson responded to Trudeau's mocking of Indiana's football team by pointing out the former quarterback's criminal history.
DUI Arrest
Trudeau was arrested for his second DUI in Indiana in July 2015 along with allegations of intimidating a police officer after testing 0.31 on a breath test and threatening to kill an Indiana officer. He was arrested previously in 1990.
