2019 QB John Rhys Plumlee

When Auburn first started recruiting John Rhy Plumlee, the Tigers offered the 4-star recruit from Hattiesburg (Miss.) Oak Grove as a slot receiver. But when Auburn assistant Marcus Woodson met with Plumlee and his father earlier this week, the coach made it clear the Tigers now want the Georgia commit to play quarterback.

“They need other guys,” Plumlee said. “The interest level from their side is pretty strong. I think it’s an offer I could commit to today.”

Plumlee, the No. 15 recruit in the state of Mississippi in the industry generated 247Sports Composite, will officially visit the Tigers this weekend. He committed to Georgia last June, but after the Bulldogs asked him to “blue shirt” (meaning he wouldn’t immediately be on scholarship and couldn’t play in Year 1) and then signed two quarterbacks in December, Plumlee began to explore his options.

“I’m still committed to Georgia but now I’m taking a step back and really seeing what all my options are,” Plumlee said.

Plumlee led his team to the state finals last season. He completed 187 of 291 passes for 2,834 yards, 33 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. He also is a standout centerfielder and wants to play both sports in college.

Auburn recently started to contact Plumlee again and Woodson, who recruits Mississippi for the Tigers, saw him Tuesday. While he has not met new Auburn offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Kenny Dillingham, the two have talked.

“I got to Face Time Coach Dillingham and he seems really fired up about me and is interested in me,” Plumlee said. “I’ve also gotten to talk to the baseball coaches and they seemed pretty fired up about me.”

Plumlee officially visited Mississippi State last weekend. Next weekend, he will check out Ole Miss. The weekend after that, it’ll be Florida State.

“I’ve got five officials and Auburn is one of them,” Plumlee said. “So I’m excited to see what they have to say and what they have to offer. I visited Auburn earlier and I kind of got to see the facilities and stuff. But when I was there, Chip Lindsey was the offensive coordinator. He’s a great guy. Now, I’m excited to see Coach Dillingham and his opinion of me and where he sees me fitting in.”

That Auburn signed touted quarterback Bo Nix in December does not seem to be an issue to Plumlee.

“No matter where you go, nothing is going to be handed to you, Plumlee said. “You want to be able to earn it. I’ve seen Bo Nix and he’s a really good quarterback. But if I go to Auburn, I’m very willing to compete against him.”