John Rhys Plumlee

Shadowlight

Master
Joined
Mar 16, 2013
Messages
3,882
For those who don't even watch much college football if they were checking out TwentyTwo's weekly reports they would often see Ole Miss QB John Rhys Plumlee and his big rushing numbers against the best teams the SEC has to offer.

With apologies to Texas WR Jake Smith, who has been put into a deep freeze of late by a very caste head coach, the greatest surprise and sense of joy this season has been the emergence of John Rhys Plumlee.

Plumlee is the most athletic white SEC QB since 6'6" Arkansas speedster Matt Jones who graduated in 2005 and was drafted in the first round (21st pick) in the 2005 draft. Jones ran a 4.37 at the combine with a 39 1/2 vertical.

Plumlee's performance last week against LSU really took the cake as he ran over 200 yards and scored 4 touchdowns. Three of them were long speedy runs leaving the LSU defense in the dust.

But for all the excitement I can't help but wonder how he will project into the NFL? The concerns are real because his profile doesn't fit into a neat summary. I want to go over the options and their drawbacks. It is still way too early to speculate but it is worth looking at the barriers Plumlee may face in a few years.

I suspect he won't be considered a running back by the NFL. A move to slot receiver won't be dismissed as both Matt Jones and Julian Edelman, former QBs who transitioned into wide receivers in the NFL. At QB his size will be called into question as he is 6'0" 192. Or could they foolishly try to move him into the defensive backfield which happened to great college QBs ( both from Nebraska) Eric Crouch and Scott Frost. When QB Trace McSorley was asked to work out with the DBs at this year's combine he told them (correctly so) to stick it where the sun doesn't shine.

I am skeptical Plumlee would be able to transition to wide receiver in the NFL because it is very rare. Edelman's success is a rare exception. It isn't impossible but it still is a long shot scenario.

So there are apparently two other more realistic choices. He could pursue baseball where he is considered a mid-high prospect where he will currently play for the Ole Miss team along with teammate RB Jerrion Ealy. Or he could become an NFL QB prospect.

Since his passing numbers are nothing to write home about so far this season (70-137-4TDs-3INT) with a 105.5 rating he would need further development in that area before any team takes him seriously despite his awe inspiring running numbers through 8 games (136-989-11). But he is barely over 50% passing and I fully realize he needs to improve as a passer. I haven't had enough looks to evaluate his raw skills in that area but we aren't talking Josh Allen arm strength either but Allen is an outlier.

The other concern is his size even though a very small (black) QB was drafted first this year.

Plumlee again is 6'0" 192 which is standard centerfield/slot receiver size.

Taysom Hill who Plumlee will inevitably be compared to is 6'2" 220.

Lamar Jackson is 62" 212.

Eric Crouch was 6'0" 200.

Michael Vick was 6'0 215.

Crouch ran an option attack at Nebraska but Plumlee is gaining huge chunks of yardage in a more conventional attack.

Except for perhaps Crouch the other three QBs listed above were solid passing QBs in college. So for Plumlee to at least be considered down the road he needs to improve his passing. In my mind that will be the most important aspect of his development. Even though he is a bit slighter than Vick and Crouch it seems to me if Plumlee can become a decent enough QB prospect then the best case scenario is he gets drafted and plays in the NFL.

Plumlee becoming an NFL force at QB would put a nice big fat pause on the Black Supremacy crowd like William Rhoden who have boasted that the "athletic fast" black QB will reinforce and consolidate the black supremacy theme.

So to say Plumlee is an important athlete here at CF is an understatement. But he isn't a slam dunk as my analysis points out. The barriers he will have to overcome wont be easy despite his tremendous speed and athletic ability.

I suspect the NFL will have no interest looking at Plumlee if he doesn't improve his passing skills. I also suspect the take on him is he will be looked at as a Taysom Hill type and might end up on special teams as a coverage Fetch.

Then there is the baseball angle. Plumlee has a cousin of sorts in former WR Michigan State commit Jase Bowen. They boasted similar speed and played centerfield. Bowen however shunned Michigan State to play baseball where he batted a whopping .223 at a Gulf Coast Pirates affiliate. He did hit three triples and apparently the Pirates are still high on him but more times than not players like Bowen get stuck in a minor league career never breaking into the big leagues.

Top tier white athletes who played football in high school but end up choosing baseball have consistently robbed football of speedster exciting white talents and this trend continues unabated.

I can picture the routine. The athlete and his parents are deliberating which sport to pursue and the mama puts her foot down and insists it is baseball due to injury concerns.

I wish Bowen all the luck and being a baseball fan if Plumlee was to switch towards baseball I would be fine with it as long as he became a MLB player of some note.

There are a lot of very fast white athletes who nobody ever hears about because they get mired in the minor league swamp.

In fact the Ole Miss baseball team recruit a white 2019 SS prospect who was a star wide receiver in a Florida high school, Connor Walsh. Walsh who is about the same size as Plumlee, maybe taller, would be an ideal speed WR prospect for the University of Florida or Florida State or another Florida team like UCF or USF. But Florida would never recruit a white WR prospect even if he was faster than the speed of light which comes close to the kind of speed Walsh displays. A sub 4.2 40 speed is not out of the question when it comes Walsh.

In the Ole Miss fall workouts Walsh burned a 6.28 60 yard dash and has consistently ran blistering times at various high school camps. If he played football his speed would be otherworldly. But Walsh chose baseball. One hopes he too can reach the big leagues and have a nice career but who knows. The odds are long for most players. But Walsh, unlike Jase Bowen, was determined to pursue baseball so football was really not an option.

But Plumlee will be a teammate of Walsh this spring for the Ole Miss baseball squad.

So like Jake Smith, Plumlee's "position" is still in a bit of a haze. Smith is listed as a WR and Plumlee is listed as a QB so it stands to reason that is their primary spot. But going forward for dynamic very fast players like Smith and Plumlee it is essential that they solidify their status at these positions.

Like I said above, the best case scenario would be for Plumlee to solidify his QB status and ultimately enters the NFL and is seen as a Michael Vick like player and gets to excite everybody every week. Time will tell. We all will be watching.
 
Last edited:

white lightning

Hall of Famer
Joined
Oct 16, 2004
Messages
20,689
Plumlee has another year to work on his qb skills. Maybe 2 more more years as he is a freshman. The size is fine as he is still just a teenager and it is natural that he will put on another 20 to 30lbs
over the next 3 years of college. They could have him work with a quarterback coach in the off seasons to help with his progression. It would be fun to see him as a Manziel type qb in the NFL but to
be completely honest I would much rather see him switch to running back. He is big enough even now but like I said he will gain weight naturally. None of us here weigh what we did in high school or
college. The kid is ripped and shredded. His body will easily put on more size. John Rhys Plumlee has all the tools to be the next McCaffrey. I don't want to see him play in the MLB as he would not
become near the star that he can in football. I hope he only goes that direction as a last resort. The kid is a freakish once in a lifetime athlete. He is beyond special as his athletecism is off the charts.

Like I said give the qb thing 1 or 2 more years at the most. If at the end of his junior season he hasn't made a huge improvement then they should switch him to running back. The kid is so good that
he could possibly lead the nation in rushing. I'm being serious here. He is that good. Running back is what he was born to do. My 2nd choice would be wide out but only as an outside receiver. Who cares
if he is a little shorter as they will not be able to cover the kid. He also could grow another few inches. Remember he is only a college freshman and still growing.
 

Rocky B

Master
Joined
Jan 1, 2017
Messages
2,051
You guys have been talking this kid up for awhile now, but I’ve never seen him play.....
I’ll be looking for him this weekend.

Loved Crouch, loved the kid from NIU a few years ago...Matt Jones...
I wish the other McCaffrey boys weren’t so damn tall like their dad, they’d get a shot at running back maybe.


Plumlee has another year to work on his qb skills. Maybe 2 more more years as he is a freshman. The size is fine as he is still just a teenager and it is natural that he will put on another 20 to 30lbs
over the next 3 years of college. They could have him work with a quarterback coach in the off seasons to help with his progression. It would be fun to see him as a Manziel type qb in the NFL but to
be completely honest I would much rather see him switch to running back. He is big enough even now but like I said he will gain weight naturally. None of us here weigh what we did in high school or
college. The kid is ripped and shredded. His body will easily put on more size. John Rhys Plumlee has all the tools to be the next McCaffrey. I don't want to see him play in the MLB as he would not
become near the star that he can in football. I hope he only goes that direction as a last resort. The kid is a freakish once in a lifetime athlete. He is beyond special as his athletecism is off the charts.

Like I said give the qb thing 1 or 2 more years at the most. If at the end of his junior season he hasn't made a huge improvement then they should switch him to running back. The kid is so good that
he could possibly lead the nation in rushing. I'm being serious here. He is that good. Running back is what he was born to do. My 2nd choice would be wide out but only as an outside receiver. Who cares
if he is a little shorter as they will not be able to cover the kid. He also could grow another few inches. Remember he is only a college freshman and still growing.
 

Leonardfan

Hall of Famer
Joined
Jul 30, 2006
Messages
22,970
Plumlee is amazingly fast - the passing game needs to be refined for sure but as a true freshman he has been stellar.
 

white lightning

Hall of Famer
Joined
Oct 16, 2004
Messages
20,689
This is for Rocky Bleier. To show you how fast this kid is he has over 5 100 plus yard games rushing an last week a 200 plus yard game
against the Number 1 Team in the nation(LSU). They have very fast guys and Plumlee made the defense look like they were planted in
quicksand and or concrete! He is the most dynamic athlete in all of college football in my honest opinion. Yet no one even considers thay
maybe just maybe he could be a superstar running back. He ran away from the whole LSU Defense. Have a look. Explosive as they come! :)
 

booth

Mentor
Joined
Jul 23, 2015
Messages
1,717
I saw where his official time in the 40 was 4.39 & his 60 time was 6.3. The Georiga Bulldogs wanted him to blue shirt his freshmen year. I believe that is when he pays his way through his freshmen year and they give him a scholarship his next year. I don't think that is exactly the way it works but something close to that.
 

Shadowlight

Master
Joined
Mar 16, 2013
Messages
3,882
be completely honest I would much rather see him switch to running back.

Not to burst your balloon White Lightening ( who has been thankfully active here of late) but that option is very remote. I can't even think of a QB who transitioned to RB in the NFL unless you go way back. Taysom Hill is the closest one but he is a fake ( or gimmick) running back. He might play RB on a few plays and run the ball but he also takes direct snaps and plays slot plus special teams. Not exactly CM territory. It is true through history QBs have transitioned to WR. In the past twenty to thirty years perhaps a dozen to twenty more have taken that route. But that is still pretty rare.

Plumlee will be a target for head and knee blows from prick black defenders so remaining healthy is of course essential. Which is why the quicker he can become a roll out and an in the pocket passer the less chances he has of suffering an injury.

I see four realistic options for Plumlee.

1- He takes the baseball route.

2- He sticks with football but doesn't get drafted despite his athletic ability. Taysom Hill was not drafted and was an afterthought and a special teams mascot his first year.

3- He manages to become a good enough passer to get drafted and or teams are excited enough about his overall athletic ability and see him as a Taysom Hill type. Then he could get some "running back" carries and probably a chance to play a coverage Fetch or perhaps even return kicks. And they could also evaluate whether he could play some or completely switch to wide receiver. While not totally ideal if he took the "Taysom Hill" route I would just be happy to see him out on an NFL field.

4-To me the best case scenario is he develops into a very good to great QB , gets drafted high and follows in the path of Steve Young and Michael Vick. This would give him a terrific spot to become a front line and exciting caste buster.

The NFL RB situation is overall sparse to say the least but if CM is the "Jason Sehorn" of his generation the CB position is literally dead while there are at least few white RBs in the NFL and I expect some more in the near future. Still pathetic but not the white CB corpse situation.

Quarterbacks bristle when they are asked to move positions. Eric Crouch was irate when they asked him to become a DB and Trace McSorley didn't want any part of the scheme to have him work out with the DBs at the combine.

There is a lot of understandable frustration here at CF when it comes to white RBs in the NFL and college. But I wouldn't put to much energy into hoping Plumlee becomes an NFL running back. Never say never but history suggests it won't happen.

So back to the ranch with white RBs with NFL aspirations like Max Borghi and Zane Dudek and there should be others soon. A small pulse but at least a pulse.
 

white lightning

Hall of Famer
Joined
Oct 16, 2004
Messages
20,689
Here is a recent example. While it is not common it can happen.

1. Denard Robinson, 2013

Robinson set an NCAA FBS record for quarterbacks with 4,272 rushing yards at Michigan, making for a smooth transition to full-time ballcarrier at the next level. The Jacksonville Jaguars drafted him in the fifth round as a wide receiver, but he moved to running back in 2014 and led the team in rushing

How many former high school and college running backs get moved to full back or linebacker? Hundreds of them and it's been going on for decades.

There is no reason what so ever that this kid as a freshman in college cannot switch to running back if he chose to and if he is allowed to. I think it's a no brainer but I wouldn't
do it just yet. He still has time to be a good qb. The kid is only 19. I just personally think that he was born to be a running back. He has all the moves and they come natural to him
to go along with speed to burn.
 

Quiet Speed

Mentor
Joined
Dec 19, 2004
Messages
1,797
Location
Mississippi
Plumlee's home town is about 75 miles up the road from me, so I'll be watching with great interest. I noticed coming out of high school scouting outfits said he is a dual-threat. He must have some decent passing skills. I'll see if I can locate some high school video which includes passing highlights.
 

Jimmy Chitwood

Hall of Famer
Joined
Aug 10, 2005
Messages
8,973
Location
Arkansas
he’s got a live arm, but his accuracy is sorely lacking. he appears to have impressive leadership skills for a freshman, because the “real” affletes on his team really play hard for him.

as a runner, he has a lot of speed, but what else really impresses me is his shiftiness. you couldn’t hit this guy with a handful of dried rice in a phone booth. he has the ability to play tailback, without question. the question would be if he wants to play there or not.
 

Shadowlight

Master
Joined
Mar 16, 2013
Messages
3,882
Taysom Hill is one of my favorite NFL players despite the fact he doesn't play a heck of a lot and when he does come in defenses focus on him . I wish they put him out there more often if only as a decoy and not become an obvious target by defenses. I get a thrill every time he lines up on offense.

That said in this rough and tumble world I would happily settle for a scenario where Plumlee assumes a similar Taysom Hill role in the NFL. I would want more but I could live with it.

It beats not being drafted and missing out as an NFL player altogether.

I was shocked to hear about Denard Robinson from White Lightening. Good find. Even in his beyond rare modern day case he had 263 rushing attempts in four years which is 65 attempts a year. Decidedly not CM territory. But still that is noteworthy. But he got injured and only played four seasons in the NFL which is why I don't exactly remember him.

I still think he will never convert to a true running back. White running backs can't make it so it is hard to picture a white QB being coveted by NFL teams at RB? If he has a live arm as mentioned above, which I haven't been able to determine yet, that will go a long way towards him becoming a QB that could garner interest from NFL teams.

If I took lunch with Plumlee I would never bring up changing positions. Quarterbacks detest the idea. Can you blame them?
 
Last edited:

icsept

Master
Joined
Oct 12, 2008
Messages
3,531
Location
Oklahoma
I’m going to enjoy watching Plumlee burn SEC defenses for the next 3 years, then worry about the NFL.
 

Bucky

Hall of Famer
Joined
Jul 20, 2018
Messages
9,100
I’m going to enjoy watching Plumlee burn SEC defenses for the next 3 years, then worry about the NFL.

Agreed! Whether it's at QB or RB, he is a rare talent! Given his size and speed RB makes sense besides the obvious fact he's a White Man.
 

sprintstar

Mentor
Joined
Jun 3, 2016
Messages
1,885
Location
Canada
I am curious as to his 100m time? He runs with pads at a 4.39 rate. Excellent acceleration, very shifty, agile as hell, quick feet. At 6' tall he is tall enough to play QB in the NFL. His passing game will develop over the next three years. Personally I would not want him to convert to RB as the bruthas would surely go for his knees or skull shot him. Better off converting to slot or WR if he does not get a NFL shot at QB.
 

Leonardfan

Hall of Famer
Joined
Jul 30, 2006
Messages
22,970
With Kiffin becoming the coach at Ole Miss I think Plumlee's future becomes a little more cloudy unfortunately.
 

Jimmy Chitwood

Hall of Famer
Joined
Aug 10, 2005
Messages
8,973
Location
Arkansas
 

Shadowlight

Master
Joined
Mar 16, 2013
Messages
3,882
For those fearing Plumlee might detour into baseball I wanted to provide an update. I know it is early but 9 games into the season Plumlee is batting .000 going o-7 with one stolen base.

Plumlee was a mid range to good MLB prospect coming out of high school but logic dictates he probably should can the idea after this season and concentrate fully on football.

At least he is going about it properly unlike Michigan State speedster WR Jase Bowen who ditched football altogether and suffered through a miserable rookie league baseball season. Plumlee is testing the baseball waters ( I can't blame him) but not ditching the football gig is the smart move.

Unless you are a top tier baseball talent white players are better off going the football route where their chances of becoming a "somebody" are much better. Too many white football stars give it up for the baseball dream and unfortunately more times than not that dream dies on the vine.
 
Top