Jeff Metcalfe | The Republic | azcentral.com

Jake Plummer traveled from Idaho to Rhode Island in 1991 to attend his brother Brett's graduation from Brown.

On the return trip, his family stopped in Canton, Ohio, long enough for the young quarterback to have his picture taken in front of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's familiar football-shaped rotunda.

"At that time, I wanted to be a Hall of Famer," Plummer said. "But I had to win the Super Bowl to get there."

That didn't happen during Plummer's 10-year NFL career — reaching the AFC Championship game with Denver in 2005 — but he did more than enough throughout his football career to be a multi-time Hall of Famer.

Plummer joined the Arizona State Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007, the Idaho Athletic Hall of Fame in 2011 and Arizona Sports Hall of Fame in 2012. And in a month, he'll become a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, an honor far beyond even what seemed realistic on that long ago visit to Canton.

"I didn't expect it to be honest," said Plummer, who will be honored Saturday during the ASU-USC football game with a National Football Foundation Hall of Fame on-campus salute. "When they put me up for nomination, I thought that was awesome. It didn't strike me how few college football players actually make it until they told me I made it. Then, it hit me."

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Plummer will become the eighth ASU player in the College Football Hall of Fame, joining his former Sun Devil teammate Pat Tillman, a 2010 inductee. Of almost 5.4 million people who played or coached college football over 150 years, less than .02% have reached the Hall of Fame, which is located in Atlanta.

The 15-member incoming class also includes former ASU coach Dennis Erickson.

The induction ceremony is Dec. 10 in New York, bringing Plummer, his parents and brothers back to where he was honored as a Heisman Trophy finalist in December 1996.

"It completes the circle," Plummer said. "It's quite an honor."

Patrick Breen/The Republic

Plummer was third in Heisman voting after an 11-1 season that fell just short of a national championship after a 20-17 loss to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl.

"I wouldn't be in the Hall of Fame without my teammates," Plummer said. "I represent the focal point of the '96 team. It's me more being a representative of that team. There were so many key important figures that were highly instrumental in what happened in '96 as far as I'm concerned.

"I got to ASU at 175 pounds and had to convince (defensive lineman) Shante Carver I was legit and capable of taking the program to the next level. Those guys had to accept me."

Plummer was a four-year starter at ASU with his first three teams going a combined 15-18 before the 1996 breakthrough which included two of the top five games in school history per this week's azcentral sports ranking.

"Those two games (vs. Nebraska and Ohio State) and that whole season galvanized the whole town," Plummer said. "That's why we still as a team are celebrated so much even though we lost the last game. It was how we did it in a fun style and with a team full of characters."

Plummer, 44, sees the similarities to current ASU starting quarterback Jayden Daniels and hopes to get in a conversation with the true freshman Saturday.

"I have to say he's the perfect size quarterback," Plummer joked since 6-foot-3 Daniels is listed at 175, virtually identical to Plummer in 1993. "Scrambling quarterbacks prefer to be statuesque, but we're not. But quarterbacks that are statues can never perform like Jayden Daniels. He's gone right to left (in passing progression) numerous times, which is high level stuff, but when things break down, he has extreme athleticism."

Plummer's best advice for Daniels is to "put his energy into the moment" rather than worrying about the NFL or College Football Hall of Fame.

"I always thought about what made what we're doing now better," Plummer said. "I didn't care about the NFL when I was playing in college."

2019 College Football Hall of Fame class

Players: Jake Plummer (Arizona State), Terrell Buckley (Florida State), Rickey Dixon (Oklahoma), London Fletcher (John Carroll), Jacob Green (Texas A&M), Torry Holt (North Carolina State), Raghib "Rocket" Ismail (Notre Dame), Darren McFadden (Arkansas), Troy Polamalu (USC), Joe Thomas (Wisconsin), Lorenzo White (Michigan State), Patrick Willis (Mississippi), Vince Young (Texas).

Coaches: Dennis Erickson (Idaho, Wyoming, Washington State, Miami, Oregon State, Arizona State); Joe Taylor (Howard, Virginia Union, Hampton, Florida A&M).

ASU inductees in College Football Hall of Fame

Players: Danny White (1997 inductee), Mike Haynes (2000), John Jefferson (2002), Ron Pritchard (2003), Randall McDaniel (2008), Pat Tillman (2010), Bob Breunig (2015), Jake Plummer (2019).

Coaches: Dan Devine (1985), Frank Kush (1995), John Cooper (2008), Dennis Erickson (2019).

Reach the reporter at jeff.metcalfe@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8053. Follow him on Twitter @jeffmetcalfe.

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