Top 10 Illinois Fighting Illini football players of all time

8. Jack Trudeau – QB, 1983-1985

Trudeau was one of the best quarterbacks to ever play for Illinois. He was the starting quarterback from 1983 to 1985, and during that time Illinois saw tremendous success on the field. 

To this day, Trudeau holds the record for the most passing yards by a quarterback at Illinois with 8,725. Trudeau is also top three in passing yards in a single season and passing touchdowns at 55 total throughout his career in Champaign. 

In 1983, Trudeau would lead Illinois to a Big Ten title. In both 1984 and 1985, Trudeau earned All-Big Ten honors. Under Trudeau’s leadership, Illinois went to two bowl games. The first was in 1984, with the Fighting Illini facing the UCLA Bruins in the Rose Bowl. The next was in 1985, where Illinois would face the Army Black Knights in the Peach Bowl. While Illinois lost both games, it still showed massive amounts of growth and success with Trudeau as the starting quarterback. 

After college, Trudeau would go on to play in the NFL. He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in 1986 where he saw some success over his time in Indiana. However, by 1990, the Colts were ready for a change at the quarterback position, and they traded up in the draft to select Jeff George, another former Illinois quarterback with the first overall pick. 

This would relegate Trudeau to the bench, where he remained in Indianapolis until 1993. In 1994, Trudeau signed with the New York Jets where he was a backup quarterback. His final season in 1995 was with the Carolina Panthers where he played one game before retiring at the end of the year.