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After putting the ball in the end zone over 40 times last season, it’s no surprise to see Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly ranked as a Top 5 quarterback heading into the 2016 season. However former NFL scout Bucky Brooks also sees Tennessee’s starting Joshua Dobbs as one of the premier players at the position heading into the season.
This is not the first time Brooks has shown his affection for Dobbs, as he pegged the Vols’ quarterback as a prospect to keep an eye on following his epic performance against South Carolina all the back in 2014.
With both players now heading into their senior seasons, here’s what Brooks recently wrote about them for NFL.com:
Chad Kelly
The 6-2, 224-pounder has one of the strongest arms in college football and he isn’t afraid to squeeze balls into tight windows. In addition, he is an underrated athlete capable of delivering the ball from unorthodox platforms from the pocket or on the move on the perimeter. He’s one of the most courageous quarterbacks that I’ve seen against blitz pressure.
Considering how hard it is to find a solid pocket passer with grit, athleticism and A-plus arm talent, Kelly certainly piques the interest of scouts looking for a potential star at the position. If he can rein in some of his gunslinger ways and become a little more detailed-oriented (footwork, accuracy and judgment), Kelly could follow his uncle’s footsteps into the NFL as a potential star at the position.
Joshua Dobbs
He’s rarely mentioned on the national scene, but there is buzz building around Dobbs’ prospects as a QB1. The 6-3, 210-pound senior is a slippery dual-threat playmaker with the tools to become a star at the next level. Sure, that has been said about a lot of mobile quarterbacks with big arms and impressive collegiate resumes, but Dobbs also has the intangibles (football IQ, leadership skills and poise) to dominate the game with the ball in his hands. He has teased Vols fans with his impressive flashes (see Georgia 2015 and South Carolina 2014), but scouts want to see him consistently overwhelm opponents with his feet and arm before anointing him as an elite prospect at the position. With a slate of games against tough SEC competition awaiting him, Dobbs will have every opportunity to show evaluators that he can be a dynamic weapon as a QB1 at the next level.
If both players live up to the hype and help evaluate their respective teams to Atlanta in December, how fun would the 2016 SEC Championship game be?
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com
