Josh Dobbs is a great one

Even when he was a true freshman struggling through his first season (2013) at Tennessee after being thrown in the fire too early, you could tell that Josh Dobbs carried himself like a winner.


He has now (and this has been a challenge he's met every step of the way) transcended the "carries himself" label and just straight-up is a winner.

Sure, he’s not the most consistent passer in the world and certainly Tennessee has played its share of ugly football games (both wins and losses) with him at quarterback, but they’ve also shown the ability in two huge games the last two seasons- 2015’s 38-31 come-from-behind win against Georgia and then the Florida game, a 38-28 win, two weeks ago- to lead his team from a massive deficit to win.

Last Saturday, his legend grew quite a bit when he tossed a 43-yard hail mary to Jauan Jennings (who actually came to Tennessee as a quarterback and even took him out of a national all-star game when asked to play a different position) to defeat UGA for a second straight season, 34-31, in a stunned Sanford Stadium in Athens, Ga.

To win a championship, and the Vols have championship aspirations this season, you are going to have some crazy finishes and clutch performances. To win those, you more often than not have to have a quarterback that has the ability to make it happen. Now, the pass against Georgia was well-thrown, but let’s be honest it was a low-percentage play that just happened to work out. It’s not about one pass- it’s about the complete package with Dobbs. It’s about no matter how bad things get and how much adversity there is to overcome, he remains the calm, cool leader of the team and performs at a high level in the clutch. These days, that’s what so many quarterbacks are missing throughout college football and even in the NFL. It’s also what historically separates good quarterbacks from great ones.

And Dobbs was a great one. I said the day he signed with Tennessee that he would be the most significant player in the Vols’ first class under fourth-year head coach Butch Jones. I am trying to think of another in that class that is as significant as this one is and I can’t.