Should Ole Miss use John Rhys Plumlee the way New Orleans Saints use Taysom Hill?

Nick Suss, the Ole Miss beat writer for the Clarion Ledger, answers questions from readers.

Nick Suss
Mississippi Clarion Ledger

It's time for an Ole Miss mailbag. Y'all have questions. The Clarion Ledger has answers.

If you ever have any questions about Ole Miss athletics or anything else you think we'd be qualified to answer, be sure to send them to beat writer Nick Suss on Twitter @nicksuss or via email at nsuss@gannett.com. 

One big question

Is anyone entertaining the notion of naming Matt Corral QB and incorporating a running back by committee? Shoot, use John Rhys Plumlee like Taysom Hill and line him up at slot or RB. -- @DeMattHarkins

Well, ain't this the million dollar question? 

For those of you unacquainted on the matter, Taysom Hill is a backup quarterback for the New Orleans Saints. He played 37 games at quarterback at BYU in college, throwing for 43 touchdowns and running for 32 more. But over the last two years, the Saints have used Hill as a Swiss Army Knife utility player.

Since the start of the 2018 season, Hill has carried 49 times for 277 yards and two touchdowns, caught 11 passes for 101 yards and three touchdowns, thrown for 82 yards on 4-for-8 passing, returned 14 kicks for 348 yards and recorded six tackles.

So, what's stopping Ole Miss from using freshman quarterback John Rhys Plumlee the same way? 

At first glance, the comparison makes sense. Ole Miss has a more traditional quarterback in Matt Corral. Use him to run your standard offense. Mix in Plumlee at receiver and running back to get him the ball in space. And then use Plumlee at quarterback on designated plays to keep defenses off balance.

Should Ole Miss use quarterback John Rhys Plumlee (right) the way the New Orleans Saints use Taysom Hill (left)? (Photos by Charles Rex Arbogast/AP and Thomas Graning/AP)

Here's the problem: Rich Rodriguez has no interest in moving Plumlee away from quarterback.

At his press conference on Monday, Rodriguez said Plumlee is capable of playing another position, but there's no plan to move him right now. Plumlee is a quarterback, Rodriguez says, and that doesn't seem like it'll be changing any time soon.

This doesn't mean Plumlee won't be used in some Hill-esque capacities. Ole Miss has already used two formations this year with Plumlee and Corral on the field together, and there's room to see this set expand. Plumlee also was a defensive back, return man, kicker and punter in high school, so he can do it all.

Plus, given how bad Ole Miss' outside receivers have been at creating separation this season, it might be worth a try to see if Corral can connect with Plumlee better than either has been able to connect with the wide receivers.

It's a fun idea. If anyone has created a 2019 Ole Miss roster on Madden or an old version of NCAA Football, it'd be a fun experiment to try. (Hint, hint. DM me.) But I don't think we'll see it on the field any time soon.

Is this working?:Ole Miss coaches reassess 2-quarterback system after 3 losses

Keeping up with the Ole Miss AD

"Does Keith Carter change offices when he gets the job? Or is he already sitting in the A.D. office?"  --@airplane42

Moving offices is a pain, but I bet Carter would pick the big office if he gets the promotion from interim athletics director to full-time AD. The real perk is probably the parking space, though. I've tried to park in the athletics building lot enough times to know a guaranteed spot is nothing short of a godsend. 

But let's not bequeath the job to Carter just yet. The search committee only recently was announced. But expect a hire to be made by the end of this month.

Whether it's Carter or someone else, most indications are pointing toward a new AD being in place by around Thanksgiving.

More: Archie Manning, former Ole Miss athletes involved in search for new AD

Ole Miss AD search:Is the next AD on this list?

Comedy for the holidays

"How excited are you for Thanksgiving?" -- @Hunterjcloud

Very. Thanksgiving is a Tier 1 holiday. It's like Christmas without any of the pressure to be merry. Just a full day of family, friends, food, football and fun. Who wouldn't be excited about that?

On a complete tangent, one of my favorite things about Thanksgiving is the sitcom specials. Christmas and Halloween get all the movies. Thanksgiving is for great TV episodes. Here's my personal top 10 list of sitcom Thanksgiving episodes:

  1. Thanksgiving Orphans -- Cheers (Season 5, Episode 9)
  2. The One With Chandler In A Box -- Friends (Season 4, Episode 8)
  3. More Like Stanksgiving -- Happy Endings (Season 3, Episode 4)
  4. Thanksgiving -- Master of None (Season 2, Episode 8)
  5. Slapsgiving -- How I Met Your Mother (Season 3, Episode 9)
  6. A Lillith Thanksgiving -- Frasier (Season 4, Episode 7)
  7. Black Friday -- South Park (Season 17, Episodes 7-9)
  8. No Fat -- Everybody Loves Raymond (Season 3, Episode 10)
  9. Burt's Parents -- Raising Hope (Season 2, Episode 7)
  10. The Gang Squashes Its Beef -- It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia (Season 9, Episode 10)

Rich Rodriguez:There's little patience in NCAA transfer portal era

Contact Nick Suss at 601-408-2674 or nsuss@gannett.com. Follow @nicksuss on Twitter.