The UCF Knights found themselves a quarterback in the transfer portal on Sunday, as John Rhys Plumlee announced he is moving from Ole Miss to Orlando:

Listed at an even six feet and 200 pounds, Plumlee (whose middle name is pronounced “rice”) went to Ole Miss from Hattiesburg, Mississippi. His best asset is his speed; he ran a 4.3 40 coming into college.

As a true freshman in 2019 under then-head coach Matt Luke, Plumlee split QB duties with Matt Corral. His statistical record was a mixed bag. While he led the Rebels in rushing wth 1,023 yards and 12 TDs, including five games of 100 rushing yards or more (and 212 against #1 LSU), he only completed 53% of his passes (79/150) for 910 yards, 4 TDs and 3 interceptions.

When Lane Kiffin came to Oxford in 2020, he committed to Corral, and Plumlee elected to move to receiver. His best performance as a receiver was against Liberty this past season, when he caught 7 balls for 110 yards.

Plumlee will be a junior in 2022.

The Knights now have five quarterbacks in the room: Plumlee, Mikey Keene, Parker Navarro, Joey Gatewood and incoming freshman Thomas Castellanos. It is entirely possible that Plumlee could get a look as a starter, and if that doesn’t work out, move back to wideout. Either way, he should get a serious look as a QB, given his speed, although his arm might need some more work.

Still, as a passer, it’s not like he has no track record. As a senior in high school, he threw for 2,800 yards and 33 TDs while running for 1,400 yards and 19 TDs, and the packages he ran at Ole Miss were mostly run-heavy. So if he gets a chance to flash his arm, he could be a pleasant surprise.

Two-sport star

Plumlee plays both football and baseball, and ostensibly plans to be the first UCF Knight to play both football and baseball since Dee Brown in 2003.

He played in the outfield for Ole Miss the last two seasons, hitting .267 with one home run and seven RBI in 47 games in 2021. His first collegiate start came against UCF, where he went 0/2 with a strikeout, a walk, and a stolen base.

Although he struck out 27 times in 60 ABs last season, Plumlee walked 14 times, and stole 7 bases in 9 attempts.

One more thing about Plumlee: Dude is a fantastic piano player.