Former Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs may be the smartest player in this year’s draft class, and he’s not afraid to let NFL teams know just how smart he is.
According to Emily Kaplan of TheMMQB.com, Dobbs, an aerospace engineering major in college, found it a little ridiculous when some coaches asked him at the Scouting Combine if he thought he could handle an NFL playbook.
“My senior year I was taking astronautics, propulsion and an aerodynamics class . . . all on the same day,” Dobbs said. “At the same time as football season when I was leading an SEC team. I think I can handle it.”
Dobbs also has a good relationship with one of the smartest quarterbacks ever to play the game, fellow Tennessee alum Peyton Manning, who gave Dobbs some tips that Manning would only pass along to someone at his alma mater.
“I would text Peyton throughout his career, and he would respond on a constant basis,” Dobbs said. “I know it’s rare, and I learned how to take advantage of the connection. But you can’t give away too many of his secrets, or you might not have that relationship.”
Keeping Manning’s secrets close to the vest is one sign of Dobbs’ intelligence, but far from the only one.