UCF QB John Rhys Plumlee continues busy schedule with offseason workouts, camps

John Rhys Plumlee tried to slip into the crowded room without much fanfare, a nearly impossible task by his stature as UCF’s starting quarterback. As he guided his 6-foot, 200-pound frame to a nearby table, a murmur began as fans took notice of him.

It’s late June and Plumlee is on hand to accept an award for being one of Central Florida’s Fan Favorites. Forty-eight hours later, UCF officially will become a member of the Big 12, a move highly anticipated by the Knights since announced in 2021.

Marc Daniels, the Voice of UCF Athletics, asks Plumlee about the move later.

“We’re fired up, to say the least,” he said, apologizing for his voice which he’d lost during team workouts. “The guys are working hard, and with my voice as you can tell, we were getting after it.”

After pausing to speak with some fans and pose for pictures, Plumlee has a few moments to catch his breath.

“This summer, I’ve got a little downtime,” he tells the Sentinel. “We do football in the mornings and then obviously do some extra work throughout the day, but the afternoons are free so I’ve been catching up on some sleep, taking some naps here and there.”

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Sleep seems in order after a spring semester in which Plumlee split time between football practice and playing for UCF’s baseball team. He would take to the gridiron in the mornings before transitioning to the diamond in the afternoons.

The two worlds collided on April 15 when Plumlee participated in an afternoon baseball game against Memphis — going 2-for-3 with 2 RBI in helping the Knights cruise to a 12-3 win — before racing over to FBC Mortgage Stadium for a spring football game where he would go 10 of 17 (58%) for 236 yards with an interception and 2 touchdowns.

Since the end of the baseball season, Plumlee has been participating in player-led workouts with his football teammates.

“I love the summer because it’s a time for guys like myself, like [tight end] Alec Holler, like [offensive lineman] Lokahi [Pauole] and some of the older guys that have been in the game for a long time who know what it takes to have a successful team. It’s laying the foundation,” said Plumlee. “The foundation has been laid since the spring, but the summer is when you double down and set the standard for the year. We’ve been trying to lay a good foundation and get the guys in the right mindset to get going for the season.”

Recently, Plumlee returned to Mississippi to take part in the Manning Passing Academy, one of the country’s premier football camps. Former Ole Miss great Archie Manning is the founder and features his sons — Peyton, Eli and Cooper, all quarterbacks — who serve as associate directors.

Plumlee can recall growing up and hearing about the Manning Passing Academy at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, La., about two hours away from his home in Hattiesburg, Miss.

“We wanted to do it so badly, but we could never do it, whether it was because of summer baseball or it was just too much money for us at the time,” said Plumlee. “My buddies got to go and they loved it. To come full circle and come back as a counselor and then to be able to throw with Eli, Peyton, Archie — I got to meet him — and Cooper’s hilarious and awesome to be around.

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“Those guys are unbelievable. It was an excellent opportunity to develop as a passer.”

The trip also allowed Plumlee to reconnect with former Ole Miss quarterback David Morris, the founder of QB Country, a teammate of Eli’s with the Rebels and a speaker at the academy.

“His wisdom of the game is unbelievable and he’s been training quarterbacks for a ton of years now and I started with him since middle school,” Plumlee said. “It’s a great time for me to get back with him and throw with him and get some pointers and some coaching from him because he’s one of the best in the business.”

Next week, the redshirt senior will travel to Dallas with teammates Ricky Barber, Joshua Celiscar, Javon Baker and Pauole as UCF’s player representatives to the Big 12’s football media event.

And on July 22, Plumlee will host a unique “day in the life” camp featuring football and baseball drills.

Plumlee credits UCF’s former chief of staff, S.J. Tuohy, for coming up with the idea

. It’s sponsored by The Kingdom, the school’s affiliated name, image and likeness collective, and Tuohy is now the executive director.

“One day, he brought it up and I was like, ‘Man, that sounds awesome,’” said Plumlee. “I would love to go on that camp.

“We’re going to have a good turnout and a ton of fun in the community with the kids who play football and baseball like me when I was growing up. Also, to be able to coach them a little bit and give them some pieces to elevate their game.”