Aidan O'Connell 'excited to watch' Jack Plummer's journey
At one time, Jack Plummer looked poised to be the face of the Purdue program. Now, he’s in the transfer portal.
Plummer announced on November 30th that he was entering the transfer portal. The Gilbert, Ariz., native had lost the starting job after the fourth game of 2021 to Aidan O’Connell. So, with two years of eligibility to use and the door seemingly closed to start at Purdue, Plummer opted to move on.
“That one was a tough one to get through,” said tight end Payne Durham, one of Plummer’s best friends and roommate. “But, I mean, he's happy, he's looking for a new home and I'm happy for him. I wish him the best, I really do. Everyone in this building has no bad blood towards him, which is good. He did everything right for us, just like Aidan. I'm happy for him.”
Plummer arrived as a touted three-star prospect in 2018, enrolling early and taking part in spring drills. He redshirted his first season and then saw action in 2019 as a redshirt freshman, starting six games that season when Elijah Sindelar was injured. Alas, Plummer suffered his own injury (broken ankle) and missed the final three games.
Plummer lost a training camp battle with O’Connell for the starting job in 2020, but Plummer started the final three games after O’Connell’s season ended with an ankle injury.
Plummer won a camp battle vs. O’Connell for the No. 1 job in 2021, as Jeff Brohm was looking for a running element from his quarterback. But the offense languished in September, and O’Connell took over and excelled. He led the team to a 5-3 mark en route to Purdue finishing 8-4 overall (6-3 Big Ten) to earn a Music City Bowl bid. O’Connell earned consensus second-team All-Big Ten honors in 2021 and announced this week he was coming back for a sixth season of eligibility.
“It's definitely hard,” said O’Connell. “He's probably one of my closest friends I've had here. Every practice since spring of 2018, he's been out there. I've been basically seeing him every day for three and a half, four years. One of my closest friends, a guy I'm gonna hopefully be friends with for a long time and also who I think is gonna play a lot more football in his life.”
Brohm initially thought Plummer would remain with the team through the Music City Bowl. But, those plans changed.
“Well, I think right now, Jack Plummer is more than likely gonna move on,” said Brohm on Monday. “He's not gonna play in the bowl game. He's taking some visits right now and we want to help him find the best spot for him.”
Where will the 6-5, 215-pound Plummer land? Who knows? He no doubt will have suitors after completing 64 percent of his passes (319-of-492) at Purdue for 3,405 yards with 26 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, making 13 starts.
The transfer portal is loaded with proven quarterbacks. Some already have found homes, including Oklahoma's Spencer Rattler (South Carolina) and Ohio State's Quinn Ewers (Texas). Others, like USC's Kedon Slovis, LSU's Myles Brennan, Auburn's Bo Nix, UCF's Dillon Gabriel, Tennessee's Harrison Bailey and Plummer--among others--are still looking
“I really think he wanted to finish (at Purdue),” said Brohm. “Nowadays, with trying to take visits and check some other places out, it was going to interfere with practice and being around the team. We both sat down and realized probably the best thing was to help his future and move forward and we wanted to give him that opportunity. And so he's not with us in bowl practice and will not be with us at the bowl game, as well.”
Plummer’s absence means Purdue will lack a proven backup signal-caller when it plays Tennessee on December 30th in Nashville.
“Austin Burton and Michael Alaimo are next up for this bowl game,” said Brohm, who perhaps signed his quarterback of the future today in Brady Allen. “We always feel like we have a competitive room and evaluate what happens after this bowl game and who's here who's not and then continue to adjust our roster from there. But all these guys have worked really hard at that position and I think that they're all looking forward to hopefully getting on the field at some point.”
But, no doubt, O’Connell will miss his comrade.
“I'm definitely excited to watch his journey,” said O’Connell. “He's a great kid and we just miss him. He's a great leader even when he wasn't playing for us, just a great leader. Does everything right. ... we're gonna miss him as a program.”
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