What Plumlee transferring means for Ole Miss in ’22
OXFORD — As long as John Rhys Plumlee was on roster, there were always going to be questions.
After three years with Ole Miss, multi-sport star John Rhys Plumlee elected to enter the transfer portal on Monday. Plumlee stormed his way into the Ole Miss consciousness his freshman year, starting eight games at quarterback and rushing for 1,023 yards and 12 touchdowns. His star faded after Lane Kiffin was hired as Ole Miss football coach and relegated him to a backup quarterback role in 2020 and slot receiver in 2021, but the threat of Plumlee's multi-talented skills added an extra dimension to Ole Miss' offense any time he was on the field.
For Plumlee, it's a reasonable move. He has said repeatedly that he still considers himself a quarterback. If Ole Miss didn't see things that way, and there's no penalty for transferring under new NCAA rules, he should go pursue his passion.
For Ole Miss, it's a difficult move on three fronts.
First, and most pressingly, there's the issue of quarterback depth. Most college teams try to carry three or four scholarship quarterbacks. With Plumlee transferring and Matt Corral turning pro, the Rebels only have two in place for 2022: Luke Altmyer and Kinkead Dent.
The Rebels were always going to have to find quarterback help in the transfer portal. Plumlee leaving removes the safety net. Now the issue isn't just finding someone to compete with Altmyer. It's having enough bodies to have a full quarterback room.
But clearly Plumlee wouldn't have felt the need to leave if he felt he had a chance to earn back the quarterback job. So there's the second pressing issue: improving depth at wide receiver.
Receiver depth was a massive issue for Ole Miss in 2021. When Jonathan Mingo, Braylon Sanders and Dontario Drummond all got hurt, the Rebels didn't have too many places to turn. Transfer portal addition Jahcour Pearson was a valuable piece, but he's out of eligibility now, and so are Sanders and Drummond.
Mingo returns for his senior year, as does Dannis Jackson. With Plumlee hitting the portal and junior Jadon Jackson
reportedly joining him, that leaves Ole Miss with only two returning wide receivers who caught a pass in 2021. Louisville transfer Jordan Watkins will help, but his addition puts the Rebels right back where they were this season with three productive receivers and zero depth.
So many players need to step up. True freshmen JJ Henry, Bralon Brown and Brandon Buckhaulter need to make a jump into Year 2. Signees Larry Simmons and Jeremiah Dillon need to help. Maybe another player or two need to join from the portal. But if Ole Miss has to endure another year where one injury can severely hamstring its receiver room, that's a bad thing.
The third effect of Plumlee's departure is bigger picture. Ole Miss had the season it did in 2021 because virtually no one left. Linebacker Jacquez Jones transferred to Kentucky and defensive end Ryder Anderson transferred to Indiana.
But the list of players who could've graduate transferred or gone pro but didn't is astounding. Keeping players like Corral, Sanders, Drummond, defensive end Sam Williams, linebacker Lakia Henry, offensive lineman Ben Brown and even punter Mac Brown on campus one extra year was a huge part of the Rebels' historic success.
Losing players to the portal is unavoidable, particularly quarterbacks. It's going to happen. But briefly, Ole Miss seemed to be immune to that attrition. Plumlee leaving shows this isn't the case. And if Ole Miss can't rely on always having fifth-year seniors waiting their turn to play, the Rebels are going to need to either start developing younger talent more quickly or be even more aggressive pulling as many players from the portal as they lose.
One player doesn't make a team, and the Rebels will surely have to replace more valuable pieces than Plumlee in 2022. But because of what Plumlee symbolizes on so many different fronts, adjusting without him moving forward is an interesting proposition.
Contact Nick Suss at 601-408-2674 or nsuss@gannett.com. Follow @nicksuss on Twitter.