Dobbs leads Tennessee in division full of quarterback uncertainty

In a division ridden with question marks at quarterback, Tennessee remains solid at the position.

The Vols are one of only three schools in the SEC East that returns their starting quarterback, along with Kentucky (Patrick Towles) and Missouri (Maty Mauk).

The experience that Dobbs brings to Tennessee’s offense – the same experience that is lacking elsewhere in the wide open East – is one of the reasons that the Vols have a shot to be in Atlanta at the end of this season for the SEC Championship Game.

"You can't put a price tag on experience,” Butch Jones said. “Experience is everything, especially in this conference.

“Understanding the day-to-day, week-to-week riggers of playing in the SEC.”

Usual contenders Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina all dealt with quarterback doubt this spring, something that is usually present at spring camp in Knoxville.

In a sport that has become so quarterback-driven on and off the field, the advantage of having a clear-cut starter cannot be overstated.

“Having Josh, I think it's healthy for our football team too,” Jones said. “They view him as their leader.

“He'll be in charge of throwing this summer and doing some things. Like you asked about the summer, that's where even his growth and maturation continue to grow over the summer months."

Quarterback controversy isn’t just confined to the eastern division either. The SEC West has four teams (Alabama, Auburn, Ole Miss, and LSU) that will breaking in a new quarterback in the fall or will continue quarterback competitions into fall practice.

Due to the lack of experience in the conference, even with only nine career college starts, Dobbs has been labeled as one of the best and most experienced signal callers in the SEC.

Dobbs will carry that label into the offseason, knowing he will be taking the first snap of the season, something that he has not experienced in his two years at Tennessee.

“Obviously, it feels good to be the starting quarterback moving forward,” Dobbs said. “I'm more worried about how the offense feels.

“We feel we have a lot of confidence moving forward. We had a very productive spring, all 15 practices. There wasn't a day that anyone didn't show up to practice. It was great to see. Everyone cares. Everyone's excited moving forward. Everyone's fired up to get better this summer and get ready for fall camp."

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