It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to run Tennessee’s offense, but the Vols have one.
That’d be Joshua Dobbs, who is quick to correct an interviewer on his academic designation.
“Aerospace engineering,” he said matter-of-factly.
And this is not some flight of fancy of this junior from Alpharetta. This past May, instead of going through the Vols’ voluntary workouts, Dobbs interned at Pratt & Whitney, a global aerospace design and manufacturing facility in Connecticut. There he actually was able to assist in the construction of F-35 jets for the U.S. military.
“I’ve always been fascinated with airplanes and aircraft design,” Dobbs told reporters at SEC Football Media Days on Tuesday. “In the seventh grade my mom took me to a Tuskegee Airman camp. We all know about the Tuskegee airmen in World War II. So I went there every year and one of the field trips we took was to the Delta base in Atlanta. To see and understand how they manufacture airplanes was huge. That was one of the intrumental steps to growing my interest in physics and everything like that.”
Dobbs’ supreme intelligence makes him as much of a fascination to his teammates as it does to fans and media.
“Sometimes he says things where you just look at him like, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’” said defensive back Cam Sutton, who roomed with him as a freshman. “When he starts talking about the aerospace engineering space it’s like, ‘Yeah I’m gonna listen to you but I really don’t know what you’re saying.’ Very intellectual and smart person.”
Though useful, Dobbs’ intelligence and interest in aerospace concepts is not why he is slated to be the starting quarterback for Tennessee this fall. But his solid status in that regard is one of the reasons the Vols are being tabbed as one of the best hopes to unseat Missouri and overtake Georgia in the SEC Eastern Division this fall.
The plan was actually to redshirt Dobbs last fall. But injuries to Justin Worley and ineffective play by Nathan Peterman left Tennessee no choice but to turn to him last fall. He made his first start against Alabama, no less, handled that challenge well.
In five starts to end the year, Dobbs went 4-1 while the Vols averaged 36.7 points and 431 yards of offense. He was named most valuable player of the TaxSlayer Bowl after compiling 205 total yards and accounting for three touchdowns (two rushing, one passing) in a 45-28 win over Iowa. In fact, he led the Vols in TDs scored with eight, all rushing.
He did that while taking thermodynamics among his class load.
“He’s proven himself,” Tennessee coach Butch Jones said. “We understand what we’re getting with Josh. We always talk about consistency of performance and we always know what we’re getting with Josh.”
The trouble is behind Dobbs. Should anything happen to him, the Vols will be relying on true freshmen.
But there are also a lot of reasons Tennessee feels good about its prospects this fall. The Vols, one of the youngest teams in the country last year, return 18 starters, 21 if one includes the three specialists. The offensive line may still be a year away, but the starters are all back. Also back are receivers Pig Howard and Marquez North. And they have some running game in Jalen Hurd and the addition of Alabama transfer Alvin Kamara, who is eligible this season.
Defensively, Tennessee is tough up front and in the back end. Defensive linemen Derek Barnett (10) and Curt Maggitt (11) combined for 11 sacks last season. And defensive backs Cam Sutton and Brian Randolph — both Georgia natives — are each all-conference caliber.
Along with assembling two straight top 10 recruiting classes, this is why the Vols are the darkhorse pick to win the East this season. That would be quite an accomplishment considering Tennessee hasn’t won more than seven games since 2007.
The Vols has also lost five in a row to Georgia and 10 straight to Florida.
“The past is in the past,” Dobbs said. “We’re working on moving forward. We want to win every game we step on the field. I’m excited for this season.”
About the Author
