 Plank grew up playing youth football with the Maplewood Sports Association; a Maplewood team has appeared in Under Armour commercials.He left the prestigious Georgetown Preparatory School, a Catholic school, due to poor academic performance and behavioral issues, then went on to graduate from another Catholic school, St. John's College High School, in 1990.Afterward, he played football at Fork Union Military Academy for a year, trying to get the attention of NCAA Division I schools.