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Tennessee Football: Where Could Joshua Dobbs Finish Ranked Among Top Vols Quarterbacks

By Caleb Calhoun

Jan 1, 2016; Tampa, FL, USA; Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Joshua Dobbs (11) runs the ball in for a touchdown against the Northwestern Wildcats during the second half in the 2016 Outback Bowl at Raymond James Stadium. Tennessee Volunteers defeated the Northwestern Wildcats 45-6. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 1, 2016; Tampa, FL, USA; Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Joshua Dobbs (11) runs the ball in for a touchdown against the Northwestern Wildcats during the second half in the 2016 Outback Bowl at Raymond James Stadium. Tennessee Volunteers defeated the Northwestern Wildcats 45-6. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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Tennessee football quarterback Joshua Dobbs’s legacy depends on his senior year performance. Where could he finish ranked among Volunteers quarterbacks?

With the equivalent of two full seasons under his belt as a starting quarterback, Joshua Dobbs is ninth on the Vols all-time career passing yards list and 10th on career touchdowns.

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Meanwhile, he has 1,329 career rushing yards and is only five rushing touchdowns away from moving into the Top 10 on that list.

Taking all of those stats into account, it may have been a bit unfair for us to leave him off of our Top 10 all time quarterbacks in school history list last December.

But Dobbs’s career record as a starter currently stands at 14-8, and he has not yet led the Vols to any championships or Top 10 finishes. That has to count for something when you’re the quarterback.

And that’s where this year comes in.

Dobbs went back to the Manning camp this summer and is looking for new ways to improve his game as a pure pocket passer according to a story online by The Times-Picayune, which will be huge for him considering his running abilities already make him a huge threat.

The Vols are a clear-cut favorite to win the SEC East. If Dobbs is to move into the Top 10 list of all-time Tennessee quarterbacks, that is a minimum accomplishment.

Then comes the things he has to do to reach the Top 5. He is right now on track to move up to at least the No. 6 spot in all-time passing yardage, and with a good year he could move up to No. 5 and even No. 4.

Barring injury, he will almost certainly move up to No. 5 all time in passing touchdowns. And he could even move into the Top 5 in rushing touchdowns.

If he reaches the Top 5 in two of those three categories and wins the East, he is certainly going to go down as a Top 5 Vols quarterback of all time.

If he misses on one of those but wins the SEC Championship, he will also become a Top 5 Vols quarterback of all time.

But if he reaches the Top 5 in all three or two of the three and wins the SEC Championship, he’s now in conversation for Top three of all time.

What’s the best Dobbs can do? Well, he can reach the Top 5 in all of those stats, win the Heisman, and lead the Vols to a national title.

Doing all of that, is there a chance he becomes the greatest Tennessee football quarterback of all time?

Possibly.

But it’s still going to be hard to put him ahead of Peyton Manning.

Right now, Dobbs appears likely to finish his career as a Top 5 Tennessee football quarterback of all time. That’s the main prediction.

But he is a few extra things away from reaching the Top Three or even Top Two if just a few things happen. It will take this season for him to do that.

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If he is not in the Top 5 all time by the end of the year, then that means this football season was a massive disappointment.

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