Ole Miss Football: Rebels flip John Rhys Plumlee from Georgia

Ole Miss football received much-needed security late Monday night as quarterback John Rhys Plumlee announced his decision to sign with the Rebels.

Perhaps the two quarterbacks Georgia took in the early signing period or maybe it was something else. Regardless of the reason, former Georgia commit John Rhys Plumlee has made official what many had speculated for weeks — he will not be signing with the Bulldogs on National Signing Day.

Instead, the Mississippi native will stay home, announcing his commitment to Matt Luke and Ole Miss late Monday evening, just days before recruits are allowed to make their verbal commitments binding.

His announcement came, as is typical these days, via social media:

Georgia will still take home a top 3 class without him, but to say the loss of a bluechip quarterback can be overlooked is a bit shortsighted. The alarming rate of transfers by top end quarterbacks in recent year’s, including Georgia’s own Justin Fields, makes the need for depth at the position more important now than ever.

Rhys Plumlee won’t just be depth for Ole Miss, though. He has enough tools and talent to compete for a starting role immediately. Last year’s starter, Jordan Ta’amu is out of eligibility, opening up the quarterback job for competition. Rhys Plumlee will have to beat out fellow bluechip recruit Matt Corrall, who made a similar late cycle flip a year ago.

This is a big win for Ole Miss and a notable inconvenience for Georgia. It will be on Rhys Plumlee to prove how much of a difference his arm can make. Ole Miss and Georgia are next scheduled to play in 2023. That would be Rhys Plumlee’s senior year.