There are 96 quarterbacks in the National Football League (NFL), each with a unique story as to how they made the league. However, one of these quarterbacks had to face adversities at every turn to compete professionally: Joshua Dobbs.
Born in Alpharetta, GA, Dobbs’ dream was to be an astronaut. All of his hopes came to a screeching halt when doctors diagnosed Dobbs with a life-altering disease—alopecia.
Alopecia is a condition that causes hair loss, primarily in the scalp but can happen anywhere on the body. At only eight years old, Dobbs’s life changed forever. Dobbs said, “I thought all of my hopes and dreams were just taken away from me.”
At the start of sixth grade, he realized he had a powerful arm and began to play football, his middle school head coach, Jacob Nichols, reminisced, “With just a flick of the wrist the ball would go 45 yards!” Dobbs soon realized he could make a career out of football, by the end of his high school season, Dobbs was listed as a three-star recruit, but the only scholarships he received were academic. Colleges were worried about how Dobbs’ condition would affect his play at the collegiate level.
Dobbs later said on the podcast “First Take,” “One of the scouts for Boston College told me that they’d love to have me as their starting quarterback but they don’t know if I could handle the cold.”
For months, Dobbs pleaded with colleges to give him an opportunity, but no organization was willing to; that all changed when the University of Tennessee decided to take the risk. Despite external doubts, Dobbs ended his college career, impressing many with his 7,138-yard and 58 touchdown career, including scouts. NFL scouts gave Dobbs an invite to the NFL combine where he would further have to prove that he was ready for the big leagues.
At the start of Dobbs’ NFL career in 2018, he played for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He then played for them for the next two years and then moved on to the Tennessee Titans in 2022, and the Arizona Cardinals in 2023. Dobbs played a total of eight games for the Cardinals, subbing in for their starting quarterback, Kyler Murray. Dobbs scored eight touchdowns and had a total of 1,569 yards for the Cardinals. After Murray’s recovery, Dobbs was then traded to the Minnesota Vikings for a sixth-round pick in the 2024 draft.In MN, Dobbs was originally going to be a second string to their backup, but in Week 9, Jaren Hall was injured with a concussion, and Dobbs was sent in to lead the Vikings against the Falcons. Before this game, Dobbs had not practiced or learned the names of his teammates, to fans’ surprise, the “Passtronaut” threw rockets to his wide receivers and helped the Vikings win the game 32-28. With this game, many people looked at what he accomplished and were inspired, like CHS sophomore student- athlete Shawn Retta of Keansburg.
“He’s the perfect example of how you never know when your time is, I mean like he just proves that you have to be ready to make your opportunity count,” Retta said.
“As a football player, I strive to always be ready to have my special moment just like Dobbs did in Week 9.”
Junior Max O’Reilly of Ocean had a very strong opinion on how Josh Dobbs inspires him.
“He inspires me everyday by getting out on the field and showing everyone what he is capable of even with the cards stacked against him,” O’Reilly said.
Dobbs is an embodiment of the classic underdog story, inspiring millions.
