And we thought that football news might slow down after media day. So much for that. Today, Kevin Wilson had an...interesting appearance on what apparently is a national radio show hosted by former Indianapolis Colts quarterback Jack Trudeau. Trudeau, for those who don't know, still lives in Central Indiana, basking in the glory of leading the Colts to their only Indy-based division title of the pre-Manning era, during the strike-shortened 1987 season (incidentally, the Colts replacement players went 2-1, including 2-0 against AFC East opponents, which was crucial to the division race--the Colts went 7-5 with the regular players). Other than that, Trudeau is best-known for a couple of arrests, one for battery on a police officer when he played for the Colts, the other for sponsoring a kegger for teenagers a few years ago. Before joining the Colts, Trudeau led Illinois to the Rose Bowl after the 1983 season before the NCAA caught up with the Illini's coach, Mike White.
You can listen to the interview and decide for yourself. First, it's very clear that Coach Wilson is tired of IU football being the butt of every radio host's jokes, and has begun to take it personally. Those of us who follow the program are sick of it, too. Still, unless there was something worse in the lead-in than what I heard, I was a little surprised that Wilson took it to heart. It may be a matter of accumulated slights rather than a reaction to Trudeau and the other guy personally. On the other hand, shortly before the hosts ended the interview, it seemed that Wilson was dialing it back and trying to talk about football, at which point Trudeau decided to give Wilson a lecture about class and professionalism. Yeah, that Jack Trudeau. Trudeau and the other host cut short then interview and then spent another 5 minutes bagging on IU and Wilson without giving him a chance to respond. I guess that is the prerogative of alumni of Big Ten powers such as...Illinois. Perhaps the most comical part of the dialogue was when Trudeau went on and on about how there was simply no way that Wilson could impress recruits with that sort of personality. Trudeau must have missed the news about Gunner Kiel.
In any event, while Wilson perhaps was a little aggressive to start, Trudeau more than made up for it with his refusal to let Wilson take the conversation back to football. It's strange for Trudeau to lecture Wilson on class and professionalism when it's pretty clear that it was Trudeau's own temper that brought the interview to an early confusion.