Big Orange faithful will get a chance to see a fan favorite at Boyd soon.
Former Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs will serve as the guest speaker at this year’s Boyd spring banquet, which will be held Thursday, March 28. The event, being held at J.K. Stanley Gymnasium, is set to start at 5:45 p.m., with Dobbs taking the stage at 7:30 p.m.
Dobbs was an easy choice for Boyd organizers, who were just as impressed with his off-the-field exploits as his success leading the Vols.
“We were tossing around some names, and Josh honestly happened by chance,” said Kevin Rhoton, one of the event organizers. “We’ve had a lot of success with former players and alumni from Tennessee in years past. We got in contact with those around Josh and it took legs and ran from there.”
Dobbs was 23-12 as a starter at UT, including winning three straight bowl games. He led the SEC in quarterback rating and passing touchdowns as a senior in 2016-17, when the Vols spent time ranked in the top 10.
After graduating, Dobbs was selected in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He appeared in five games last season while serving as the back-up quarterback to Ben Roethlisberger.
Rhoton has already seen Dobbs’ impending visit stir up interest.
“We’ve seen a lot of excitement in the community. We think it’s going to be a good turnout,” said Rhoton.
Dobbs is just as driven off the field, where he was a model student-athlete at UT. Dobbs earned an aerospace engineering degree while also minoring in business administration. Dobbs attended space camp at NASA and has aspirations of being an airplane designer after his football career.
Dobbs also works closely with Girls Inc., Emerald Youth Foundation and the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. He made regular visits to Tennessee shelters during his UT career.
Seats for the dinner, which begins at 5:45 p.m., are available for $100. Tables of 10 can be reserved for $1,000. General admission seats will be available for $25, with entry allowed at 7:15 p.m.
Contact Boyd school to purchase a seat for the festivities.
