Jake Plummer grew up in Boise and graduated from Capital High School in 1993. He was a three-sport star in high school, playing baseball and basketball in addition to football. He was selected as an all-state quarterback as well as punter twice, and passed for 6,097 yards and 68 touchdowns in his junior and senior years.
He attended Arizona State on a football scholarship, gaining national attention as “Jake the Snake” for his elusiveness on the playing field. He was drafted in the second round of the 1997 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals. In 1996 Jake lead ASU to an undefeated regular season, a Pac-10 championship, and ASU’s second trip to the Rose Bowl where they lost to Ohio State 20-17. Plummer was inducted into the Arizona State Hall of Fame in September 2007.
In 1998 Jake led the Cardinals to a 9-7 regular season record and an upset victory against the Dallas Cowboys in the playoffs, giving the Cardinals their first postseason victory since 1947. In 2000, Plummer threw for 2,946 yards and had a 66 quarterback rating. In 2001 he passed for 3,653 yards, 18 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions. He had a stretch of 142 consecutive pass attempts without throwing an interception. Plummer led the NFL in fourth-quarter passing yards (1,227) and led the Cardinals to a 7-9 record. In 2002 Jake eclipsed the 15,000 passing yard mark against the San Diego Chargers.
In 2003 Plummer signed as a free agent with the Denver Broncos. With the Broncos and head coach Mike Shanahan, Plummer had a season with a career high 91.2 quarterbacks rating. Plummer led the Broncos to wild card playoff berth in both 2003 and 2004 losing in the first round on both occasions.
In 2005 Plummer had his best season as a professional. Most notable was his streak of 229 passes without an interception. Jake led the Broncos to a 13-3 regular season record, a first round playoff bye, eventually losing to the Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship game.
Jake retired after the 2006 season with career stats of 161 touchdowns, 161 interceptions, 29,253 passing yards and a quarterback rating of 74.6.
Jake currently makes his home in Sandpoint with his wife Kollette. Jake keeps the competitive juices flowing by playing competitive handball.