Dobbs makes the grade for Vols

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., — Joshua Dobbs' drop in his grades was serious enough that Tennessee coach Butch Jones made him apologize to the team. This couldn't have been positive.

The 6-3, 216-pound sophomore already had enough on his plate. After senior QB Justin Worley was sidelined for the season with a shoulder injury, Dobbs was thrust into action after not taking a snap in the Volunteers' first seven games. He was headed toward a redshirt, but then he was headed toward the starting lineup.

'A lot of individuals with a senior in front of them and you're going through the process of possible redshirt, a lot of individuals will shut it down,' Jones said during the final TaxSlayer Bowl news conferences on Wednesday. 'He prepared every week as though he were the starter.'

Dobbs' 2014 season kind of mirrored his 2013, when he was a true freshman. Dobbs was headed toward a redshirt and didn't make the traveling team when the Vols went into Florida last season. Then four weeks later, he was the starter at No. 7 Alabama.

'He defines perseverance, resiliency, I believe that comes from his mother and his father,' Jones said. 'He's had a great upbringing, he's very prideful and he defines student-athlete.'

This brings us back to Dobbs' grades. Jones said his performance this semester brought down the team's GPA.

'Was it a 3.7 or something like that? Maybe a 3.3,' Jones said with a laugh.

'Something like that,' Dobbs said in a humble tone.

The punchline here, of course, is that Dobbs still had a pretty good GPA in the extremely difficult major of aerospace engineering.

'I had him stand up at a team meeting and when they gave it to him [teased him over the grades],' Jones said, 'he also had to tell them his class schedule. Nobody wanted any part of that. I think that's tribute to him, to be able to answer the call.'

So, Dobbs is a smart and responsible student-athlete. He's also gone into his first two seasons in Knoxville believing he would redshirt and then jumping into the action and performing.

Dobbs led UT to a 3-1 record with victories in three of the Vols' final four games to secure bowl eligibility. In that four-game run, Dobbs generated 1,203 yards of total offense, which was 70.8 percent of the Vols' offense. Dobbs is UT's second-leading rusher with 393 yards and has 1,077 passing yards.

'It wasn't a whirlwind,' Dobbs said. 'From last year I gained a lot of experience, so I knew what it was like. It was good to go back and reflect on the last month and see how far we have come, all the accomplishments we had. We're in position to play a meaningful game in January and we're excited about our opportunity and excited about the game.'

The UT staff also deserves credit for reinventing its offense with the QB change. Worley was a pro-style QB who didn't have much mobility, evidenced by the 31 sacks he took in seven games. Dobbs offered mobility and opportunity for UT to move the pocket and throw on the run.

'We have to play to the skill set of our players,' Jones said. 'Joshua presents a very unique set and, obviously, he has the ability to run the football, but also some different things in the throw game. You are always adapting and adjusting again to the strengths of our players. You have to have flexibility within your offensive system.'

Dobbs, who added 27 pounds between his freshman and sophomore seasons, seems to have an excellent sense of presence. He's been on UT's leadership group in each of the last two seasons. He knows he's in a role that has a say in the psyche of his team.

'Being the starting quarterback, you have more power behind your words,' Dobbs said. 'The team has done a great job of rallying.'

The UT offense responded. Dobbs led an offensive outburst of 95 points against South Carolina and Kentucky. In the Vols' season finale, they needed a victory at Vanderbilt in the season finale to earn bowl eligibility for the first time since 2010. Dobbs responded with 21 rushes for 91 yards and two TDs in a 24-17 win.

'All the other players have rallied around him,' Jones said. 'He has leadership characteristics, he is taking control and they believe in him. That is the biggest thing. They believe in him.'

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