After leading Dallas to a 13-3 regular season record and winning NFL Rookie of the Year in 2016, Dak Prescott blew up in his first season after leaving Starkville. Playing for a talented Cowboy team certainly helped ease Prescott’s transition to the game’s highest level but many pro quarterbacks have failed to deliver in similar circumstances over the years, regardless of NFL experience. Look no further than Dallas, which annually fell apart after any injury to starter Tony Romo before Prescott arrived.

Should former Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs find himself in a similar situation next year, could he make a splash at the NFL level? Jon Gruden seems to think so.

During the latest filming of Gruden’s QB Camp, Dobbs was the featured prospect leading up to the 2017 NFL Draft. Along with his former head coach Butch Jones, Dobbs traveled down to Florida Thursday to tape his segment of the camp. Gruden, having a longstanding relationship with the Tennessee program, already knew Dobbs better than most associated with the NFL and dropped this nugget about the former Vol signal caller, courtesy of WATE 6 Sports Reporter Emily Proud:

If a Super Bowl-winning NFL coach known for his quarterback expertise sees something in Dobbs, it stands to reason that at least one pro franchise sees something similar in the former Volunteer. Provided Dobbs goes to a team that won’t rely exclusively on him early in his pro career, could he become the next unheralded prospect to successfully start at the NFL level?

With the 2017 NFL Draft approaching, the buzz around Dobbs continues to grow. At one point considered a fringe draft pick, it’s hard to imagine Dobbs could go undrafted in the NFL’s upcoming draft. Who knows, this time next year we could be comparing several under-the-radar quarterbacks asking if they could become the next Joshua Dobbs in the NFL.

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