CRAWFORD | Mean Tweets? Louisville’s Plummer ignores negativity, keeps on working

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Here was my idea. I was going to have Louisville quarterback Jack Plummer read some “mean Tweets” from fans over the past couple of football games. You’ve seen the bit, done by celebrities or politicians, where they read the nasty stuff people post about them and laugh, illustrating how brutal people can be.

Louisville Football Coverage:

And they’ve been brutal at times with Plummer, who struggled in Louisville’s ACC Championship game loss to Florida State, a game in which the Cardinals failed to score a touchdown and Plummer completed just under 39% of his passes.

Still, here’s a quarterback who has won 10 games since transferring from Cal to play for new Louisville coach Jeff Brohm. He’s led — by any measure — one of the more successful regular seasons in Louisville history. He took the program to its first-ever conference championship game. Yet, he endured withering criticism during the team’s final two games, losses to Kentucky and FSU.

The Cardinals (10-3) are preparing for a Dec. 27 Holiday Bowl matchup against USC (8 p.m., WDRB), which would get them to 11 wins for just the sixth time in school history.

It would’ve been a nice juxtaposition, I thought, to see Plummer stand up to the criticism and read some of it. Then I asked Plummer how he dealt with the negativity. His answer? He doesn’t look at it. He has deleted the apps from his phone.

“It’s something that you’ve got to deal with when you’re playing football at this level, especially at the quarterback position,” Plummer said. “People nowadays all have a platform. You used to have to be somebody to have a platform and say something, but in the world we live in today, anyone can say what they want. Personally, I just don’t look at it. I know these people have their opinions. They can think what they want, but I know who I am. And really, I just take it off my phone. I don’t even see it. People want to get a reaction out of you, they want you to see it. And I feel like I take that power away from them by just not even looking at it and not letting it bother me.”

Given that, I needed to call an audible. Who was I to expose him to some of the fan rants? (Or media criticism, for that matter, some of which has been mine?) So there was no reading of the posts, no airing of grievances, even if we did sit down for an interview the day before Festivus. Others on the team, however, have seen it and have praised Plummer for his handling of the pressures of the position, and the team itself.

His roommate, offensive lineman Eric Miller, is one of them.

“He’s a mature guy. And you know, he knows the deal that comes with playing quarterback at a Power 5 school is you’re going to get more of the credit and you’re going to take more of the blame than you really deserve,” Miller said. “So, he does a great job and he has been steady throughout the year. He tries to just keep a level head and he’s done an incredible job and I couldn’t be more happy for him or more proud of him. He’s been a great leader, a great quarterback to take us through Coach Brohm’s first season here. I couldn’t be happier with how he’s played and what he’s done for this program. And you know, I don’t know that people understand truly what he does every day. The kid never leaves the building. He’s here from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m . every day. He loves football, loves his team, loves these guys. This means a lot to him.”

Plummer ranks 30th nationally with 3,083 passing yards this season. His season total ranks 10th in school history. He’s completed 63.5% of his passes for 21 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

One-third of those interceptions came in Louisville’s three losses. In those games, his completion percentage was just under 55% (67 of 121). After going to the air 52 times in a loss at Pittsburgh, Brohm reimagined his offense a bit, throwing just 16 times in a win over Duke and only 12 in a win over Virginia Tech.

Yet even after Brohm moved more to a rushing-oriented attack after the Pittsburgh loss, Plummer was pivotal. He had to make calls to get Louisville into the right running plays or protections.

And, once opponents adjusted to stop the Louisville ground game, Plummer needed to deliver through the air again, as he did with a 308-yard, three-touchdown performance in a win at Miami that sent the Cardinals into the ACC championship game.

Plummer said the changing styles and requirements, and the challenges they’ve brought, have been fun. Even in games where it looked like he was just handing the ball off, he’s had to prepare and be sharp.

“Honestly, it’s been fun,” Plummer said. “It’s been great. I mean, there’s two games in that middle of the year where I was kind of just playing field manager and let’s run the ball, get us into the right play. And then we’ve obviously had games where I’ve had to throw the ball a ton, which is fun. As a quarterback you want to throw the ball and give it to our good wide receivers. So, it’s been good. I think one of the things I love most about football is just the mental aspect of it, and the challenges that the coaches put on my plate to get us in the right place. They throw a lot of plays at us, and knowing that I’m going to get everyone lined up and throw the ball where it’s supposed to be.”

Brohm praised his graduate QB for his work ethic and ability to understand and run his offense. Plummer signed with Brohm and Purdue out of high school, but transferred to Cal before last season looking for more playing time. He found it, starting every game in a 4-8 campaign.

“Well, he understands how the quarterback position works,” Brohm said. “He’s played a lot of football, got a ton of experience. I can just say, you know, being around him, the guy works relentlessly to be the best. He puts in the time. He puts in the effort. I came into the quarterback room late at night a couple nights ago. I don’t think anyone is going to be in there and he’s in there watching film. So, the guy really wants to prepare and do well. And we’ve got to help put him in the best position to do that. Anytime you lose, it’s not always the quarterback’s fault. It’s my fault. We’ve got to protect a little longer or get open a little bit better or run the ball a little better. … It’s a team effort. So, I just think that our coaching staff, myself, our players, we’ve all got to be better. We’ve all got to rise to the challenge and when those things happen, then we all look better. But the quarterback is an important position, and I know he’s going to work really hard and prepare really hard.”

A year ago against USC, Plummer threw for 406 yards in a 41-38 loss. He has shared his experiences against the Trojans with his teammates. Bowl games are often wide-open, freewheeling affairs. He said he’s looking forward to the same in Louisville’s Holiday Bowl appearance.

Plummer said he’s hoping to continue his career beyond college. He has accepted an invitation to play in the Hula Bowl All-Star game after the season and may get another opportunity or two. He’ll train for Louisville’s NFL Pro Day and take his shot. If playing doesn’t work out, he said he’s leaning toward moving into the coaching profession.

While the season hasn’t ended quite the way anyone hoped, Plummer said he’s hoping to write a positive ending yet, in Wednesday’s game.

“I think we had a good year,” he said. “I think people can say that we fell short in a couple of games where we think we should have won during the end of the year. You always expect to win all the games on your schedule and … unfortunately, we didn’t do that. But we can be proud of this season. . . . I’m excited for this game, excited for another opportunity for us to go out and get another win, and get us to 11 wins on the year year, which is something I think that’d be pretty special.”

Watch WDRB’s one-hour pregame show from San Diego from 6:30 to 7:30 Wednesday night. Rick Bozich and Tyler Greever are live from Petco Park, with Tom Lane and Eric Crawford in studio. See more of this interview with Plummer, a one-on-one conversation with Brohm and more.

Related Stories:

Copyright 2023 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.