And at the number #5 spot on my list is…
#5 University of Tennessee’s Joshua Dobbs- The 6’3″ senior QB will be returning to Knoxville to quarterback the Vols for the third year in a row. Dobbs is coming off a very good 2015 campaign. He’s not your typical starting college QB, he is studying aerospace engineering at Knoxville so he must be a dedicated student while also being a dedicated athlete. The University needs a student athlete like Dobbs right now because he could be one of Tennessee’s shining star to distract from some of the issues going on at Tennessee. He led the Vols to their best season since 2007, with a 9-4 record. Dobbs has steadily improved in his first three years at Rocky Top. He is now one of the feared dual threat QBs in the nation. He threw for 2291 yards through the air and rushed for 671 yards. He passed for 15 touchdowns and only threw 5 interceptions and he also ran the ball into the endzone 11 times. During his junior year, Joshua Dobbs had some very impressive games for Rocky Top Nation.
On October 10, the Vols were facing the Georgia Bulldogs. Coming into this game the Vols had just dropped their first two SEC games by a combined margin of 5 points so the Volunteers needed a W in the baddest way. To start the game it looked like Tennessee wanted no part of the Georgia Bulldogs. Late in the second half, Tennessee was trailing 24-3 and from that point Tennessee never looked back. They ended the game on 35-7 run, including 28 unanswered points, and won the game 38-31. Dobb threw the a career high 312 yards passing add 118 yards on the ground. He had a season high in yards from scrimmage. He scored three times through the air and twice on the ground. He accounted for all of Tennessee touchdowns against Georgia that day. Dobb led his team to the third biggest comeback in school history. The biggest one since the 1991 game against Notre Dame. Also on this day Dobbs did something that only one other person in Tennessee history had ever done. He passed for over 300 yards and over 100 yards rushing. The other guy to do it? Joshua Dobbs in 2014 against South Carolina.
On October 31, he returned to the field after suffering a close loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide on the road, 19-14. Their opponent on this Saturday was the Kentucky Wildcats and once again the Vols were looking to get the bitter taste of defeat out of their mouth. Tennessee went to Kentucky and exercised their demons. The Vols would win the game 52-21. He threw for 233 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He also rushed for 51 yards and scored twice using his feet. The most important stat for this game for Dobbs was that he had a QBR of 94, but this was not his season high. He would get his season high against Vandy on the 28th of November.
In the last home game of the season, the Vols played in-state rival Vanderbilt and Dobbs put on a show. They beat Vandy 53-28. Dobbs threw for 170 yards two touchdowns and he also rushed for 93 yards and had one rushing touchdown. But the biggest stat was his QBR. Dobbs had a season high QBR of 94.8 during his last game of 2016.
Going into the 2016 season the Vols and Dobbs have a chance to do something really special. They have an experienced backfield anchored by Dobbs and RB Jalen Hurd. If Dobbs continues to improve coming into the 2016 season, he and his team will be some shiny hardware back to Knoxville.
