Shadowlight
Master
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2013
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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.
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.
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