Football, fatherhood, and a future in medicine

From a young age, Jake Rudock knew what he wanted to be when he grew up — a professional baseball player. When his mom asked him what he might do if that didn’t work out, he didn’t hesitate. “Professional football,” he told her. And if that didn’t happen, he was even prepared with another backup: pro golf.

But the summer before he entered ninth grade, he took an anatomy course that ignited his interest in medicine. “I feel like my mom breathed a sigh of relief when I told her I wanted to be a doctor because I had finally chosen something a little more realistic,” he says.

In college, Rudock was a starting quarterback for the University of Iowa and then U-M. He even achieved his early childhood dream of playing pro football, joining the Detroit Lions in 2016 and later the Miami Dolphins.

He retired from football in 2021. He feels lucky to have had that experience and to be able to say he did it. At the same time, in the NFL, he says, “You grow up fast.” 

That maturity is something he’s been able to take advantage of in medical school at U-M. Now he’s living a different kind of dream, and he feels fortunate to know he’s working toward a career that’s meaningful to him.

When asked which is harder — football or medical school — Rudock says, “They’re different kinds of tough.” There’s a mental component to both, he says, but the physical exhaustion of football is unequaled. And the sheer amount of knowledge he’s expected to take in for medical school is nearly overwhelming. 

Add to that, he’s now a husband and father. His daughter just turned 2 this spring. “She’s going through a real daddy phase right now,” he says, “Which is fun … and exhausting.” He says his daughter helps him decompress after hard days. “Sometimes something sad happens, but you get to come home to a little one who’s always excited to see you.”

He occasionally wishes he could be at home more. “But a lot of people have jobs that take them away from their family sometimes,” he says. When it’s tough to be away, he’s able to fall back on his sense of purpose, and that keeps him in the game.