Ranking the projected starting quarterbacks in the Big 12 for 2023
By Andrew Tineo
3. John Rhys Plumlee, UCF
The most intriguing new signal caller to the league is UCF’s John Rhys Plumlee. He shined in his first season with Ole Miss in 2019 but was benched the next two seasons and transferred to join Gus Malzahn in Orlando last season.
He made the most of it, with over 2,500 yards through the air, 1,000+ more on the ground and 26 total touchdowns.
Some quarterbacks are more dynamic than others 🏈@BCrawford247 ranks the most dynamic quarterbacks in college football heading into 2023 ✍️https://t.co/ECt7ekjd0W pic.twitter.com/8TkXn7wjf9
— 247Sports (@247Sports) May 23, 2023
John Rhys Plumlee was made in a lab to play QB for Gus Malzahn pic.twitter.com/jRQGNfsScw
— Unnecessary Roughness (@UnnecRoughness) August 23, 2022
Plumlee proved that he could thrive against American conference competition. However, the jump back to Power 5 could be the measuring stick to UCF’s success in the league.
While in the SEC, Ole Miss trusted his arm less, completing just 52% of his passes and throwing four touchdowns to three interceptions in 2019. However, the baseball athlete gained confidence in throwing and drastically improved in 2022.
In his first year at Ole Miss, he proved he could hurt defenses in many ways. Duplicating that in the Big 12 will make him one of the most exciting players in the sport.