Joshua Dobbs

Robert Joshua "Josh" Dobbs (born January 26, 1995) is an American football quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL).

Dobbs's touchdown reception against Florida was the first reception by a Tennessee quarterback since Peyton Manning caught a 10-yard pass from running back Jamal Lewis in 1997 against Arkansas.

Against the rival #19 Georgia Bulldogs, Dobbs had a season-high 312 yards passing and three touchdowns to go along with 118 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

He completed 26 of 42 passes for 240 yards in the 31–3 loss, which was the most passing yards in a freshman debut since 2004 (Erik Ainge (118) and Brent Schaefer (123) against the UNLV Rebels).

After a 55–23 loss to the #7 Auburn Tigers and a 14–10 loss to the Vanderbilt Commodores, Dobbs put together a solid performance against the Kentucky Wildcats at Commonwealth Stadium.

In the 27–14 victory, Dobbs threw his first two career touchdown passes and had a 40-yard rushing touchdown.

Overall, he completed 72 of 121 passes for 695 yards with two touchdowns and six interceptions and also rushed for 189 yards and a touchdown in his true freshman season.

His efforts in the game led Tennessee to their first win over the Bulldogs since 2009.

Against the #8 Alabama Crimson Tide in their annual rivalry game, Dobbs had 171 yards passing and one passing touchdown in the narrow 19–14 loss at Bryant–Denny Stadium.

Against rival South Carolina, Dobbs passed for 255 yards and two touchdowns in the 27–24 home victory.

Dobbs and team helped Tennessee reach their first bowl game since the 2010 season.

He originally committed to Arizona State University to play college football, but in February 2013, he changed his commitment to the University of Tennessee.

As a true freshman at the University of Tennessee in 2013, Dobbs played in five games with four starts after starter Justin Worley suffered an injury in a loss against the #1 Alabama Crimson Tide at Bryant–Denny Stadium.

Dobbs came into the game and completed 5 of 12 passes for 75 yards.

He made his first career start against the #10 Missouri Tigers at Faurot Field.

Dobbs competed with Worley (a senior) and Nathan Peterman (a sophomore), to be Tennessee's starter for the 2014 season.

Worley was announced the starter, but Dobbs took over as the starter in November after Worley was injured in a 34–3 loss to the #3 Ole Miss Rebels at Vaught–Hemingway Stadium.

Although Dobbs was not pushed into action immediately after the injury, in the following week against #4 Alabama Crimson Tide, Peterman was named the starter, but he was relieved quickly by Dobbs.

Dobbs performed well in the 34–20 defeat by recording 192 passing yards and two rushing touchdowns against the Crimson Tide.

Against South Carolina, Dobbs had a breakout performance against the Gamecocks at Williams–Brice Stadium.

In the 45–42 comeback win in overtime, Dobbs had 301 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, 166 rushing yards, and three rushing touchdowns.

Against the Kentucky Wildcats at Neyland Stadium, Dobbs had 297 passing yards, three passing touchdowns, 48 rushing yards, and one rushing touchdown in the 50–16 victory.

He finished the 2014 season with 469 yards rushing and eight rushing touchdowns in just six games.

Dobbs received two Offensive Player of the Week honors from the Southeastern Conference (SEC), both of which came from his combined passing and rushing performances for over 400 yards in each game.

Dobbs was named the 2015 TaxSlayer Bowl MVP in Tennessee's 45–28 victory over Iowa.

In the game, Dobbs passed for 129 yards and one touchdown and rushed for 76 yards and two touchdowns.

Dobbs threw for 1,206 yards with nine touchdowns and six interceptions during his sophomore season.

Dobbs entered the 2015 season as Tennessee's starting quarterback.

He started and appeared in all 12 regular season games and the bowl game.

To open Tennessee's season on September 5, Dobbs recorded 205 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, 89 rushing yards, and one rushing touchdown against the Bowling Green Falcons in a 59–30 win at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee.

In a double overtime 31–24 loss to the #19 Oklahoma Sooners in the Tennessee 2015 home opener, Dobbs had 125 passing yards, one passing touchdown, 12 rushing yards, and one rushing touchdown.

In a 28–27 loss to SEC East rival Florida at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Dobbs had a season-high 136 rushing yards and had a 58-yard receiving touchdown thrown by teammate wide receiver Jauan Jennings on a trick play.

He played college football for the Tennessee Volunteers, and was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL Draft.

Dobbs was born and raised in Alpharetta, Georgia, the son of Stephanie and Robert Dobbs.

His mother retired from United Parcel Service (UPS) as a region manager in corporate human resources, and his father retired as a senior vice president for Wells Fargo.

Dobbs has alopecia areata, an autoimmune disease causing hair loss, which began when he was transitioning from elementary to junior high school.

Dobbs started playing football when he was five years old.

He attended Wesleyan School and then Alpharetta High School.

As a senior with the Alpharetta Raiders football team, he threw for 3,625 yards with 29 touchdowns.

Dobbs was rated a three-star recruit by Rivals.com and a four-star by Scout.com.