The 2017 NFL Draft is nearly here, and it’s crunch time for prospects looking to make last minute moves up the draft board. One of the players that’s seen his draft stock fly through the roof over the last couple months has been former Vol quarterback Josh Dobbs. And now he can add the compliments of a former Pro Bowl quarterback to his long list of praises.
Ron Jaworski, a former 15-year starting NFL quarterback and current analyst for ESPN, likened Dobbs to New England’s Tom Brady and Dallas’s Dak Prescott on Tuesday afternoon.
Jaworski was making an appearance at a school in Philadelphia when he was asked about his thoughts on the former Vol quarterback. And he didn’t hold back on his commendations.
“Everyone talked about Tom Brady, you know, ‘Where do you get that guy at No. 199 in the sixth round?’ for a long time,” Jaworski stated. “Now, the en vogue player is Dak Prescott, taken in the fourth round by the Dallas Cowboys. Everyone wants to know, ‘Jaws, who’s that guy? You’ve looked at all the tape, who’s the guy that you like that could be the surprise?’
“I think it’s Josh Dobbs, the quarterback out of Tennessee.”
Dobbs finished his Tennessee career with 9,360 total yards and 87 total touchdowns and holds all of Tennessee’s rushing records for quarterbacks. He also finished his career with a 23-12 record as the Vols’ starting quarterback.
“(Dobbs) made a lot of throws in college – just under a thousand throws,” Jaworski said. “He played a lot. He’s a bright young man, and he’s mobile. I like guys that have that experience in college. That projects them well to the NFL. It’s why I worry about a guy like Mitch Trubisky, who only played 13 games.
“I like guys that have experience. It’s the old Bill Parcells rule — he likes guys who played four years, they stayed in school, they graduated. They come out not only as mature players, but as mature individuals. Josh Dobbs is a guy I’ve got circled.”
The 2017 NFL Draft begins with the first round on Thursday, April 27th. The second and third rounds will be held on Friday, and the final four rounds will be on Saturday. Tennessee hasn’t had a quarterback drafted into the NFL since Jonathan Crompton was taken in fifth round by the San Diego Chargers in 2010. In fact, the Vols haven’t had a quarterback taken before the fifth round since Peyton Manning was selected No. 1 overall in the 1998 draft.
With the way Josh Dobbs’ stock is rising, he could be the quarterback to break those streaks for Tennessee.
