What is Louisville Getting in QB Jack Plummer?
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The 2023 season is still months away for the Louisville football program, but we already know who is likely going to be their starting quarterback.
On Wednesday, the Cardinals picked up a commitment from Cal graduate transfer quarterback Jack Plummer. The 6-foot-5, 215-pound signal caller has some familiarity with new Louisville head coach Jeff Brohm, as he spent the first four years of his collegiate career at Purdue before transferring out west.
The Golden Bears might have gone 4-8 for the 2022 season, but it certainly wasn't due to Plummer's efforts. Starting all 12 games, he completed 62.5 percent of his passes for 3,095 yards, 21 touchdown passes and nine interceptions. His yardage mark was good for sixth-most in Cal history for a single season, and ranked No. 22 in FBS through the end of the regular season.
Outside of that stat line and system familiarity that he has with Brohm, what is Louisville getting in Plummer? Let's break it all down by first going to the film.
One of the first things that stands out with Plummer when watching film from this past season is that he is incredibly decisive on short/intermediate throws that come after a two- or three-step drop back. He doesn't show any hesitation with his throws in these situations, and trusts the call/his receiver to make the play.
His actual throwing motion, despite being a little unorthodox as he throws a bit overhead, is pretty fluid, and has an above-average release in terms of getting the ball out of his hands. His best throws come when he targets receivers down the field, as he has good overall touch and accuracy on his deep shots and fades. An underrated aspect of his game is that he has a great pump fake that, more often than not, causes defenders to bite hard when he does use it.
A lot of people will look at his -126 rushing yards from his lone season at Cal and come to the conclusion that he is a statue in the pocket. This is not the case, and that stat is more so a product of how bad the Golden Bears' offensive line was, as they allowed 31 sacks for the season.
Plummer isn't a scrambler, let's get that out of the way. But he is a lot more mobile than he gets credit for. He does a good job of climbing the pocket and navigating it when pressure is coming, while also keeping his eyes downfield at all times.
Now let's go back to the actual stats. Some of his better games came against the top teams in the Pac-12. Against UCLA, USC and Washington, he threw for 945 yards and 10 touchdowns to one interception. The only reason Cal lost all of those games is because of their defense. He posted five games where he threw for multiple touchdown passes to just two games where he threw multiple interceptions.
Had Cal's offensive line been a lot better, there is reason to believe he could have been one of the more prolific passers in the Pac-12, if not the FBS. According to Pro Football Focus, on the 313 drop backs where he was kept clean (63.1 percent of total drop backs for season), he completed 71.2 percent of his passes for 2,250 yards and 18 touchdowns to only four picks. On these drop backs, he also carried a PFF offensive grade of 90.2.
PFF's advanced stats also back up that he is proficient in navigating a collapsing pocket and getting the ball out to avoid getting sacked, despite the fact that Cal's offensive line regularly gave them up. Just 16.9 percent of opponent pressures resulted in Plummer getting sacked, and his average time to throw was 2.57 seconds. For comparison's sake, 21.2 of opponent pressures on Malik Cunningham this past season resulted in a sack, and his average time to throw was 3.02 seconds.
Is Plummer perfect? No. One area of concern is that his sell on play actions aren't that convincing. Last season on 106 play action drop backs, he completed 59.6 percent of his passes for 756 yards and four touchdown to three interceptions. Watching film, he also occasionally throws passes that are a bit too high, but that's not something that should be a massive cause for concern.
However, there is plenty of reason for optimism. Plummer is heading to a team that should have an improved offensive line and better receiving corps. As previously mentioned, he also has familiarity with Jeff Brohm and his offensive system, which should not be discounted in the slightest.
Plummer probably won't go out and win the Heisman Trophy. However, he serves as more than just a one-year stop gap while Pierce Clarkson develops behind him. He gives Louisville, and specifically their offense, a very real opportunity to be competitive in year one of the Jeff Brohm era.
(Photo of Jack Plummer: Soobum Im - USA TODAY Sports)
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