Ole Miss’ Plumlee Named SEC Freshman of the Week

By Adam Brown
Sports Editor
adam.brown@hottytoddy.com

Ole Miss quarterback John Rhys Plumlee was named SEC Freshman of the Week by the league office on Monday after a huge performance against No. 1 LSU in a 58-37 loss.

John Rhys Plumlee rushed for 212 yards and four touchdowns against the No. 1 LSU Tigers. Photo courtesy of Joshua McCoy / Ole Miss Athletics.

Plumlee has received this honor in back-to-back weeks. It is his third of the year.  

Against the Tigers’ defense, he rushed for 212 yards on 21 attempts with four touchdowns, setting a single-game Ole Miss rushing record by a Rebel quarterback and freshman. LSU came into the game No. 2 in the SEC and No. 13 nationally in rushing defense, allowing just 100.7 yards rushing per game.

The Hattiesburg native became just the fifth SEC quarterback over the last 20 seasons with four rushing TDs in a game (Nick Fitzgerald [2x], Cam Newton, Tim Tebow and Jesse Palmer.) The last time an Ole Miss player rushed for four or more touchdowns was Dexter McCluster vs. Tennessee in 2009. He is the first QB to rush for at least 200 yards against the AP No. 1 team since Vince Young did it in the 2006 Rose Bowl vs. USC.

The Rebels signal-caller is also the first quarterback to rush for 200-plus yards on LSU since Cam Newton in 2010. With his four TDs vs. the Tigers, Plumlee extended his freshman rushing touchdown record (11), as well as his freshman overall TD record (15).

Plumlee ranks second in the conference in rushing touchdowns (11) and fourth in rushing yards (989). He is second in yards on the ground per game (109.4).

Plumlee needs 11 yards to become just the sixth Rebel (and first quarterback) to surpass the 1,000-yard rushing mark in a single season.

Ole Miss takes the gridiron one last time this season on Thanksgiving night as they travel to Starkville for the annual battle for the Golden Egg. Kickoff is slated for 6:30 p.m. on ESPN.