John Rhys Plumlee's First UCF Press Conference as QB1
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Some college football players struggle when they are in the spotlight, especially when it’s the first time they are thrusted into the starting lineup.
For the UCF Knights, former Ole Miss quarterback John Rhys Plumlee is certainly not worried about being in the spotlight. He’s been there plenty of times while in Oxford, Miss. Now that UCF Head Coach Gus Malzahn has named Plumlee the starting signal caller, it was good to see him be relaxed at practice, as well as during the press conference afterwards.
“Obviously…really happy,” Plumlee said about being named the starting quarterback. “Feel really, really blessed. Um, to have the opportunity to come here, to have the opportunity to compete, and have the opportunity to be the starter is really cool.
“I feel the best word to describe it is that I feel blessed, yeah.”
After Plumlee’s opening answer to a question about winning the job, it truly was obvious that he seems ready to lead the Knights. He was all smiles. Then, Plumlee heard a question about the next step to begin the season.
“Um, Game 1. South Carolina State. You know, um, that’s the focus. It’s Week 1, Game 1. Game plan on getting ready to go. That’s where I think we all are as a team.”
Hearing Plumlee place his first start as the UCF quarterback in basic terms should be considered a good sign. He did not try to make it a big deal. Plumlee just wants to now focus on the next task at hand.
With that in mind, Plumlee talked a little about gelling with the players he will be throwing the football to.
“Uh, I think it’s really good. Obviously, going through spring, going through summer, going through fall, and you’re on the same page with everybody. It goes from splitting reps to the majority (of reps) to the same guys. We can start honing in on the little things, about timing and all that good stuff.”
As the winner of the quarterback battle, Plumlee also shows a gracious side. Mikey Keene lost the battle. Plumlee talked about being on that side of the ledger during his time at Ole Miss.
“Um, I’ve been there, you know? I’ve lived it. It’s uh…Kind of going back, the competition was unbelievable. He’s an amazing competitor, obviously. We were watching film. We watched a ton of his film. He made some amazing plays.
“(Keene) kind of got thrown in the fire. Actually did get thrown in the fire. To see the way he responded last year is really really cool for me. I just think that says a lot about Mikey, you know?
“Going through this competition, I could see why everybody thinks so highly about Mikey. Not just his athletic ability, but all the intangibles. The work ethic, the staying late, the getting up early. I can’t say enough good things about Mikey. That’s ultimately why it was such a good competition you know?
“You got me knocking in and you’ve got Mikey knocking back, you know? I think the team felt that we have two guys that we could win with, in us two.”
Projected UCF Offensive Depth Chart
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