Tennessee Football: 10 Vols Most Deserving of 2016 Postseason Recognition

Is there any surprise here? Joshua Dobbs, with the exception of two bad games against the Alabama Crimson Tide and South Carolina Gamecocks, was awesome all year for the Tennessee Vols and single-handedly carried them to at least three victories.

He earned his spot on the Coaches All-SEC team as a second-teamer, but Dobbs probably deserves to be a first-teamer over Jalen Hurts. After all, Hurts’s stats aren’t as good, and you can’t factor in wins when you take a look at all the talent on the Tide.

Dobbs finished the year completing 63 percent of his passes for 2,655 yards and 26 touchdowns. He added 713 rushing yards and nine touchdowns.

On passing alone, Dobbs is fourth in the SEC in yards, first in quarterback rating, and first in touchdowns. Add in his rushing totals, and there really isn’t any SEC quarterback close to his level of stats this year.

Take away three plays this year, and the Vols are 11-1 while Dobbs easily earns first-team All-SEC and maybe even garners All-American recognition.

After all, he is close to Deshaun Watson’s level this year when it comes to stats, something we said was possible at the beginning of the year.

So while Dobbs as a senior did not reach what he likely wanted to reach for Tennessee football, his efforts on the field and as a leader deserve more respect than they are getting.

And as an academic superstar, he’s deserving of every bit of postseason recognition.