Gus Malzahn discusses John Rhys Plumlee balancing UCF football, baseball

John Rhys Plumlee pulled double duty this spring for UCF. Head coach Gus Mulzahn acknowledged the impressiveness of Plumlee playing football during spring practice and also playing for the Knights’ baseball team.

Plumlee played 29 games going into Thursday for the baseball team. Just like on the football field, he produced on the diamond.

Malzahn opened up on Plumlee’s balance between the two sports.

“He’s planning on playing baseball too and he was a part of the scrimmage,” Malzahn said. “We had a plan, I can’t remember if it was four or five series and I think he’s going to play a double header right now. I don’t know if anyone’s ever done that. It’ll be interesting to see.

“He hasn’t missed any practices. He’s really done a solid job, not just offensively but leading and all that. The fact that he can go play high level baseball says a lot about him. It’s been impressive to watch.”

Plumlee showed off his dual threat ability in his first year with UCF in 2022 after three seasons at Ole Miss. He had 2,586 yards, 14 touchdowns, eight interceptions, a 63% completion percentage, 862 rushing yards and 11 rushing touchdowns.

In baseball this season, Plumlee has a .297 batting average, five home runs, 12 RBI, 10 walks, 28 hits and a .396 on-base percentage.

Heck, if Plumlee can balance out these two sports, he must be pretty impressive. It worked for an NIL deal with Dove Men.

“It was cool working with Dove Men because I already use their products throughout the day,” Plumlee told On3. “It didn’t even feel like an ad.”

The NIL deal was announced Wednesday and was facilitated by GSE Worldwide agent Jeff Weiner.

In the promotion, Plumlee takes viewers through a typical day in his life. He showcases how he stays clean with Dove Men products through a typical day that starts with football practice, continues with classroom time and finally ends with a lengthy baseball practice.

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As a member of the Class of 2019, Plumlee was a four-star recruit out of Hattiesburg (Miss.) Oak Grove, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He was the No. 15 overall prospect in the state, the No. 23 quarterback in the class and the No. 334 overall prospect in the class.