Steelers backup Dobbs leaves rocket science for later
Joshua Dobbs is knee deep into learning the Pittsburgh Steelers playbook. But even as the rookie quarterback cuts his teeth in the NFL, in one sense he’s catching a break.
Last year, while attending the University of Tennessee, Dobbs’ class load included astronautics, aerodynamics and propulsion. For his senior project, he had to design and build a model aircraft.
“From scratch,” Dobbs explained to USA TODAY Sports while coming off the field after a training camp practice this week.
Yes, football can be complicated. But it’s not exactly rocket science. So it’s no wonder that Dobbs, 22, believes concentrating solely on the game is a bit of a relief compared to his previous academic load.
“Football slows life down,” Dobbs said. “I can rest, study. It’s relaxing, almost, to have more freedom.”
It’s not every day that you run into an NFL prospect who also has a fresh degree in aerospace engineering. That makes Dobbs one of the league’s most inspiring rookies — in stark contrast to an environment that produces so many sad-sack stories about lives shattered when the dream ends. Football represents just one avenue to success for Dobbs. Mamas, let your babies grow up to do likewise.
Two years ago, Dobbs interned for Pratt & Whitney, working on futuristic aircraft. He perked up at a mention that he could qualify for the new opening at NASA for a “planetary protection officer” to help protect the Earth from aliens — like real-life Men In Black stuff, as one visitor put it.
“Someone tweeted that to me, like, ‘ We need you at NASA!’ ” Dobbs said.
If not for football, would he apply?
“Maybe,” he said. “I think that would be really cool.”
For the time being, Dobbs — he started 35 games for the Vols and was 3-0 in bowls — is determined to roll with football.
With starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and other frontline players being preserved, Dobbs will get an extensive test while starting Friday’s preseason opener at the New York Giants. He managed to get more reps during the early stages of camp as Landry Jones missed several days with an abdominal injury.
“One man’s misfortune is another man’s opportunity,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin said.
It’s too early to sense whether Dobbs will threaten Jones for the No. 2 job behind Big Ben, but it’s hardly a stretch to view the fourth-round pick as a potential long-term option for the day when Roethlisberger retires. But first things first. Tomlin, who vouches for Dobbs’ football IQ, is interested in seeing how the rookie handles himself under NFL game conditions.
“He’s a bright-eyed, willing worker,” Tomlin said. “He appears to learn from mistakes. I think that’s good. He also appears to learn from the mistakes of others, which is doubly good. But like a lot of things, we won’t know un- til we get him in a stadium. At that position, you’re defined by how you perform under certain circumstances.”
Dobbs doesn’t seem fazed by coordinator Todd Haley’s playbook, which he’s been absorbing since this spring while trying to learn its nuances.
“If we sat up there and you gave me the playbook, I can easily memorize it and spit it back to you,” Dobbs said. “But then when you get out of the field, and that play clock is ticking, and you’re thinking, ‘Oh, this play is bad against that look, what did the coach say to check?’ — that’s definitely a whole new step, where it takes reps and practice. ... The details are what get you.”
Dobbs said he’s trying to get to the point where he’s figured out how Haley wants to attack defenses based on the reads of any particular play. It has helped to stand behind Roethlisberger when the 14th-year veteran takes snaps during team drills, allowing for mental reps.
“I try to see what he’s looking at,” Dobbs said. “I kind of have an idea of what I would do, and then I like to see what he would do on each play — where he goes with the ball against different looks, the different checks and audibles he makes at the line — that’s been the biggest way I’ve been able to learn from him.”
Roethlisberger, 35, who thrives while improvising to extend plays, chuckled when the rookie’s comment was relayed to him.
“I try to tell the young guys, ‘Do what I say, not what I do,’ ”Roethlisberger said. “I like what he’s doing. He’s very smart. “He’s picking it up quick.” And who knows? Maybe some day Dobbs can save the world, too.