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Vols taking off with rocket scientist at QB

Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs (11) takes off on a fourth-down play, with seconds left on the clock, to score a 36-yard touchdown during the first half of an NCAA college football game against South Carolina in Columbia, S.C., Saturday, Nov. 1, 2014. (AP Photo/ Richard Shiro)

Tennessee was staring at disaster.

Or so it seemed.

The Volunteers, who had lost starting quarterback Justin Worley to injury and were on their way to falling to 3-5, turned to their sophomore backup quarterback, who happens to be a rocket scientist, or will be.

Josh Dobbs is majoring in aerospace engineering. He did an internship at Pratt & Whitney, a global aerospace manufacturer, between the final spring session and summer school.

Dobbs started four games as a freshman but had the reputation of being more serious about studying than he was about football.

He became the pivotal player in a turnaround season when he started the final five games, going 4-1, including a victory in the TaxSlayer Bowl, where he was named MVP.

That Dobbs engineered that strong finish had a lot to do with the Vols being picked to finish second in the SEC East and Dobbs being named third-team preseason all-SEC by members of the media.

Dobbs completed 112 of 177 passes for 1,206 yards with 9 touchdown passes and 6 interceptions. He rushed for 469 yards on 104 carries and had 8 touchdowns.

He was the highlight of the Tennessee season.

It should be considered, at least a little, that those four victories were against South Carolina (in overtime), Kentucky, Vanderbilt and Iowa.

But for a team that hasn't finished above .500 in SEC play since 2007, that finish was reason enough to put Vols Nation on a Rocky Top high.

Tennessee has had five coaches, counting an interim, since going 6-2 in the SEC in 2007. That's even more than Arkansas, which has had four, counting an interim.

Phil Fulmer was out after the 2008 season and Lane Kiffin was hired. Kiffin bolted after one season for Southern Cal, which sent him packing midway through his fourth season (he's the offensive coordinator at Alabama now).

Kiffin was followed at Tennessee by Derek Dooley, who was coming off a 4-8 season at Louisiana Tech and stayed consistent at Tennessee by going 15-21 in three years.

Jim Chaney was interim coach for a game, before arriving at Arkansas as the innovative and sometimes puzzling offensive coordinator.

Butch Jones was hired to bring stability back to Tennessee's proud program. Jones went 5-7 his first season, then got help from the future rocket scientist, who probably should have been playing more anyway.

Now folks are saying the same thing about the Volunteers as they are the Razorbacks -- they are back.

The Vols can prove that in their first five games.

They open with Bowling Green in Nashville and then host Oklahoma. The Sooners return 16 starters from an 8-5 team that lost to TCU, Kansas State, Baylor and Oklahoma State in the regular season and fell to Clemson (40-6) in the Russell Athletic Bowl.

Tennessee then hosts Western Carolina, goes to Florida, which has beaten Tennessee 10 consecutive times, and hosts Arkansas.

That Oct. 3 game could be pivotal for the Vols and Hogs, and it will be a statement game for one of them.

Tennessee has 16 starters back but has issues at linebacker and wide receiver and could use more experience on the defensive line.

The Vols are young. It appears Jones will start a total of eight sophomores, five on offense.

Tennessee has eight games within its borders, with road games at Alabama, Florida, Kentucky and Missouri.

Members of the media took Tennessee's strong finish and high number of returning starters into consideration when their poll was done, but the biggest factor was that of the rocket scientist.

Dobbs is a dual threat who gives defenses a lot to think about. At the same time he thinks quickly and has tons of talent, and he proved last season that football is important, too.

Sports on 07/28/2015