I watched the last two Tennessee Volunteers football games and paid close attention to their new quarterback, Joshua Dobbs.
We all have seen what he’s been able to do in his first few games. He played very well against Alabama when he was thrown in to the fire. He has the Vols on a two-game win streak and the program on the rise.
After dominating South Carolina at Williams Brice, he led the Vols to a thrashing of Kentucky in front of his home fans. What’s been so impressive to me in this kid is his confidence. He’s come into the SEC as a freshman and played outstanding. Even during the loss against Alabama, he lit them up in the second half. He’s playing beyond his years and the team is responding to it.
This week we’ll get a chance to see if Dobbs is the real deal. He gets a hot Missouri team coming into Knoxville this weekend in an important game. He’ll face one of the best pass rushes in the country, led by defensive ends Shane Ray and Markus Golden.
Dobbs’ mobility has been the key element. That’s what Tennessee lacked with Justin Worley under center. Poor Worley was getting hammered all season long and eventually suffered a season-ending injury. There isn’t a bigger best friend to a struggling offensive line than a quarterback with mobility. Dobbs can scramble or run the ball on designed plays. He’s clearly not a Tim Tebow, as far as size goes, but he’s slippery.
The broadcast of the Tennessee-Kentucky game showed Dobbs’ major in a graphic. Aerospace engineering. That sounds like one of the coolest majors I’ve ever heard and I can only imagine what his course load is like during the season. It really shows his maturity and how smart this kid is. You can bet that his teammates see that maturity and follow his lead, as it has shown in the last two weeks.
We’ll see how this season ends up and how Josh does this weekend against a very solid Missouri team, but if he can continue his recent success, I don’t think it’s impossible for him to one of the Heisman contenders for next year.
The Man. The Myth. The Legend.
