His on-field sample size is relatively small with just nine career starts, but the potential’s noticeable: Tennessee quarterback Josh Dobbs could be the SEC’s biggest breakout star this season.

Considering the buzz surrounding Butch Jones’ program after the Vols won four of their final five games last season and welcomed a Top 5 recruiting class in February, would it be fair to label Dobbs as Tennessee’s most important player this fall?

You’d be crazy not to.

During the 2013 campaign, Dobbs became only the eighth true freshman quarterback to start at Tennessee in the program’s 117-year history — no surprise when you take into account how quickly he adapted to the college game under then-offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian.

He took his lumps that fall on a bad team and fell to No. 2 behind Justin Worley as a sophomore. Forced into action following Worley’s season-ending injury, Dobbs almost single-handedly beat South Carolina and Kentucky in his first two starts, accounting for 812 total yards of offense and eight total touchdowns.

He provided the Gamecocks and Wildcats with a wealth of talking points during the following week’s defensive meetings.

Performing at a high level in the SEC at the most pivotal position on the field is just as much mental as it is physical and
one could argue Dobbs’ cerebral advantage away from the sideline is unmatched in major college football. He’s felt the need to problem-solve his entire life, graduating from Alpharetta High School in Georgia with a 4.0 GPA in 2013 after 13 years of perfect attendance before enrolling at Tennessee.

Aerospace engineering was the perfect field of study for Dobbs in Knoxville and thus far, leading a resurgent football program vying for a return to greatness hasn’t derailed his academic focus whatsoever.

That tedious attention to detail and unmatched work ethic (he’s the CEO of the team according to Jones) is one of the reasons Dobbs should flourish in new OC Mike DeBord’s system. The two formed a cohesive bond during the spring, a relationship that will pay off this fall in an offense still in the middle of its maturation process.

Dobbs is a dynamic playmaker who hasn’t yet posted a signature win, but it’s coming. Prior to Tennessee’s SEC opener at Florida on Sept. 26, the Vols’ second game against Oklahoma is the ideal opportunity at showcasing just how far he’s come as a junior quarterback.

Should Tennessee start the season 3-0 ranked inside the Top 25 with a wave of confidence heading to Gainesville, the only ceiling between Dobbs and the College Football Playoff could be inside the Georgia Dome at season’s end.