Iowa makes football offer to Bay Port's Plumb
When Bay Port junior Jack Plumb was growing up, he always told people his goal was to play in the Big Ten.
He didn’t really believe it was a valid option at the time, but it didn’t stop him from dreaming about it.
That dream can be a reality now.
Plumb was offered a scholarship by Iowa on Tuesday, just the latest in a line of schools who want the basketball star to play football instead.
Indeed, Plumb’s goal was to play in the Big Ten, but he also had imagined it would come on the court rather than the gridiron.
Basketball is still an option — the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and UW-Milwaukee have made offers — but football has all the momentum.
Iowa is the latest school to jump in, but it wasn’t the first and it likely won’t be the last. Plumb has been offered by schools such as Illinois State, South Dakota and Western Illinois.
Wyoming was at Bay Port to visit him Wednesday, while Wisconsin, Purdue and Minnesota are among those that remain in the mix.
The Hawkeyes’ offer — the team recently received a verbal commitment from Green Bay Preble junior running back Henry Geil — is perhaps the most prestigious yet.
Iowa envisions the 6-foot-8, 240-pound Plumb as a future left tackle. He was Bay Port’s tight end in 2016, when he caught five touchdowns, but many see him as an offensive lineman at the next level.
“I was a little bit surprised that they offered early,” Plumb said. “They were in to watch me work out about two weeks ago. I talked to (Bay Port coach Gary Westerman) about it, and he said, ‘You have shown everything you can to them so far. Now they are just going to want to see you be physical and move somebody off the ball at one of their camps.’
“So I thought all the Big Ten schools were just going to wait until camp. But then I got offered, and I was jacked about that.”
Picking football over basketball would not be a surprise, at least when you consider Plumb’s family history.
His maternal grandfather is the late Fritz Shurmur, who served as defensive coordinator for the Green Bay Packers when they won Super Bowl XXXI.
His paternal grandfather is Ted Plumb, who was an assistant coach for the Chicago Bears when they won Super Bowl XX.
His mother's cousin is Pat Shurmur, the offensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings and former head coach of the Cleveland Browns.
When Plumb was offered a basketball scholarship by UWGB a few years ago, his mother said he’d be the first in the family to play basketball instead of football.
“Then all these football ones came in,” Plumb said. “And she said, ‘Well, maybe not.’”
If Plumb picks football, he will be the latest in a recent string of Bay Port players to earn a scholarship to a Division I school.
Former quarterback Alec Ingold recently completed his sophomore season at Wisconsin, former offensive lineman Cole Van Lanen redshirted for the Badgers in 2016 and linebacker Matt Lorbeck will be a freshman at Northern Illinois this fall.
After Plumb announced on Twitter that he had received an offer from Iowa, he got a few messages from some of his old teammates.
Ingold texted a picture of Wisconsin players holding up the Heartland trophy — the award presented to the winner of the annual Wisconsin-Iowa game — and after congratulating him on the offer, he made sure to remind him Wisconsin is still better.
Van Lanen also congratulated him, but added Wisconsin is where it’s at.
By all means, Plumb would love to get an offer from the Badgers. It’s not a slam dunk he’d immediately take it, but it would be right at the top of his list.
“It would mean a lot to me if Wisconsin offered,” Plumb said. “Just growing up being a Badgers fan and supporting them all the time, it would be super cool to think that the Wisconsin coaches think you’re good enough to come in and play for them.”
So when will a decision on all this happen?
“When I know it’s right, I am going to make the call,” Plumb said. “I don’t think there is any point in me prolonging it. I’m also not just going to rush it just to get it done before my senior year.”