Editor's Note: Jake Plummer will be honored this Saturday, Nov. 9, with an NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute, presented by Fidelity Investments, during Arizona State's game against USC in Tempe. He will be officially inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame during the 62nd NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 10 in New York City.

Jake Plummer
Arizona State University
Quarterback, 1993-96

• 1996 First Team All-American and Pac-10 Player of the Year.
• Led 1996 team to an undefeated regular season, the Pac-10 title and its first Rose Bowl appearance since 1986.
• Threw for more than 2,000 yards in three consecutive seasons (8,827 career passing yards).
• Played for coach Bruce Snyder.
• Becomes eighth Sun Devil player to enter the Hall.

Arizona State had won only 15 games across Jake Plummer's first three seasons, and as his senior campaign approached in 1996, he made sure that such mediocrity would not be tolerated.

When the Sun Devils players gathered ahead of the summer of Plummer's finale, they found their quarterback dreaming bigger than any of them could have imagined.

"I came in and I had a rose in my hand and I said: 'I don't know about you guys, but I want to be there this year, so I'm staying here all summer,' " Plummer recalled. " 'That's my plan, so who else is in? If you're not in, go ahead and take off right now, get out of this room. But if you're in, if you're here all summer, then we're going to make this happen.' "

"I had forgotten about that," Plummer said recently. "But one of my linemen buddies reminded me about it."

Plummer and his ASU teammates made it happen, running the regular season table and getting to Pasadena, California, for the Rose Bowl. That sun-kissed autumn in Tempe, Arizona, is the highlight of Plummer's Hall of Fame career, as "Jake the Snake" captained ASU off the field while amassing Pac-10 Player of the Year honors on it.

"Whenever he's in town he always comes to visit. He was in my office," said current ASU coach Herm Edwards. "You talk about arm strength, height and all that, and I go: 'Yeah, that's all great, but if they can't lead, it ain't going to matter.' He was a great leader. He led his team. In the big moments, his teams could count on him to make the play. That's the kind of guy that he is. You respect guys like that."

A Boise, Idaho native, Plummer was a largely overlooked recruit who was sold on ASU when coach Bruce Snyder told him that the Sun Devils would win a national title if he came. They darn near did just that, winning all 11 regular season contests in 1996 before falling to Ohio State.

"Just that whole season was magical," Plummer said.

Plummer finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting that season as the Sun Devils landed at No. 4 in the final national rankings. A four-year starter at ASU, Plummer notched an Arizona State-record 34 games with either a passing or rushing touchdown, and he ranks third in school history with 8,827 career passing yards and 1,142 career pass attempts. He sits fourth in Sun Devil annals with 65 touchdown passes while ranking fifth with 632 completions and 8,711 yards of total offense during his career.

Plummer also excelled in the classroom, earning First Team Academic All-Pac-10 honors as a senior and Honorable Mention laurels as a junior and sophomore.

Plummer was drafted by the Cardinals, and in a fickle business that is filled with moves and uncertainty, he was able to play his first six NFL seasons in the same stadium he played in college.

"I threw four picks my first start as a Cardinal and got a standing ovation coming out on the field every time," Plummer said with a laugh. "That doesn't happen in New York City. So there were some positives there."

In 2005, Plummer established the Jake Plummer Foundation, which is dedicated to Alzheimer's. He is a huge supporter of the Pat Tillman Foundation, in honor of his heroic ASU teammate. He also did some work for the Pac-12 Network and is currently part of a start-up that specializes in digital playbooks: readylistsports.com.