Player Spotlight: John Rhys Plumlee

JOHN RHYS PLUMLEE

PUTTING TEAM BEFORE SELF IN EMBRACING NEW ROLE

By JAKE THOMPSON

Losing a starting position is never easy for an athlete, especially when it’s the starting quarterback on a Southeastern Conference team.

For John Rhys Plumlee that is exactly what happened with Matt Corral taking over the position during last season. Many players would take their ball and go home, or jump into the often-popular transfer portal and land with a team that would play them.

Plumlee opted to do the opposite — he stayed with the school he committed two three years ago. Once it became apparent that Corral would be the Rebels leader under center, the topic of discussion shifted to what would Plumlee do if he indeed chose to stay in Oxford.

That answer became apparent during the Outback Bowl in January when Plumlee lined up as a receiver and hauled in catches thrown by the man who took his spot. The move became permanent with Plumlee being labeled a full-time receiver at the start of fall camp.

From January to August, Plumlee spent time away from the football team as he is also an outfielder on the Ole Miss baseball team and spent his spring at Oxford-University Stadium. Following the conclusion of the Rebels baseball season in June, Plumlee and head coach Lane Kiffin sat down to talk about Plumlee’s future with the team.

The talks went well and Plumlee’s character with how he handled the transition impressed Kiffin, who spoke about it during SEC Media Days in July.

“We’re excited that he’s embracing what we discussed,” Kiffin said. “It shows that he’s a team player. That’s not easy. That’s the one position, it is always hard for someone to say, ‘Okay, I’m going to go play another position.’ It’s not like a move from safety to linebacker. For him to do that, there’s not many kids that do that anymore. They’d be somewhere else. It says a lot about him and his feelings for the university. He’s a special, special kid.”

Having Plumlee now among the receiving corps is something that is providing multiple benefits for the Rebel offense. stated during fall camp having someone such as Plumlee who still has a “quarterback brain” in the same room with the receivers can only be a positive.

The sentiment was backed up by offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby. With someone who has spent most of their career on the other end of a pass, Plumlee has now experienced both sides of the play, providing perspective that the other receivers do not have.

“I think the goal for everybody on the unit is to understand exactly what we’re doing, what everybody’s doing and nailing it at every position,” Lebby said. “Everybody says that knowledge is power and John Rhys has got it. He’s able to share it with everybody in that room and as he works through it and playing the position, he’s able to share some things from a different perspective. Something that maybe the guys didn’t think about initially.”

With Elijah Moore now catching passes on Sundays in the NFL, Lebby is tasked with trying to find a way to fill the massive production void Moore left behind. Plumlee is one piece of that puzzle, along with Braylon Sanders, Dontario Drummond, Jonathan Mingo and others.

The addition of Plumlee, and his selfless act of accepting and embracing his new role, could be the key to unlocking the potential of the Rebel receivers in 2021.