Roderick Plummer comes to Alabama State from Florida A&M University, where he served as the running backs coach and special teams coordinator for the Rattlers for one season. He will coach running backs and coordinate the special teams unit for Alabama State beginning in 2018.
During his time at Florida A&M, the Rattlers finished sixth in rushing offense at 136.2 yards per game. They ran for a total of 1,498 yards as a team during the 2017 season and Plummer coached Devin Bowers who finished sixth in the conference at 642 yards, averaging 58.4 yards per game. The Rattlers finished third in the conference in scoring last season (22.0 ppg) and fourth in total offense (344.6 ypg).
Plummer helped to improve the Florida A&M kick coverage team from last in the MEAC to first, and coached a pair of All-Conference selections at the school. He coached Chris Faddoul and Devin Bowers to the all-conference selections.
Prior to his stint at Florida A&M, Plummer served a three-year stint at Holy Cross where he served as the linebackers coach and special teams coordinator.
During his final two seasons, the Crusaders have led the Patriot League in punt returns (11.0 yards/return in 2015; 12.3 yards/return in 2016). In addition, return specialist Jake Wieczorek was named a third team All-American in 2016. Several other players Plummer has coached have been named All-Patriot League in the last two years, in linebackers Nick McBeath (2016) and Kyle Young (2015), punter Connor Fitzgerald (2015) and return specialist Kalif Raymond (2015).
Plummer joined the Crusaders after spending two seasons at the University of Massachusetts in 2012 and 2013. He was the running backs coach at UMass during both years, in addition to serving as special teams coordinator in 2012. Plummer played a key role for the Minutemen in helping the program transition to the Mid-American Conference and the football bowl subdivision. During his time at the school, he coached Michael Cox who was drafted by New York.
Prior to his time at UMass, Plummer was the running backs coach and special teams coordinator at Yale from 2009-2011. At Yale, the kickoff return unit finished number one in the country. His other coaching stops include time at Cornell (2004-2006), Florida A&M (2008), Hampton (1997-1998), Idaho (2007), James Madison (1996), Kutztown (1994-1995 and 2002-2003), Michigan State (1999-2000) and Wayne State (2001). Plummer helped lead Hampton to back-to-back Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championships in 1997 and 1998, and was on the staff of the Michigan State team which won the Citrus Bowl following the 1999 season. He also had National Football League coaching fellowships with Philadelphia, Jacksonville, San Francisco and Cleveland.
A number of Plummer’s former players have either been drafted or signed free agent contracts in the National Football League, including T.J. Conley (Idaho), Michael Cox (UMass), LeRoy Vann (Florida A&M), Bryan Walters (Cornell) and Kalif Raymond (Holy Cross).
A native of Oakland, Calif., Plummer is a 1993 graduate of Washington State University, where he was a four-year letterwinner and starting linebacker for the Cougars. In 2002, he was inducted into the St. Mary’s College High School Athletic Hall of Fame.
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