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By Hod Rabino
DevilsDigest.com
Arizona State lost out on highly touted in-state quarterback Tyler Bruggman on Wednesday, as the Phoenix Brophy star announced a commitment to Washington State, but got good news later in the day in the form of a pledge from Alpharetta, Ga., quarterback Joshua Dobbs.
Dobbs, a three-star prospect ranked by Scout as the 36th quarterback nationally, said he enjoyed his unofficial visit to Tempe last month and had been considering a commitment ever since.
“I really enjoyed my visit to Arizona State,” Dobbs told Devils Digest. “I really enjoyed meeting the coaching staff, getting the feel around campus and learning about their academics. The fact that they had my major, aeronautical engineering, was huge because that degree in the undergraduate level is rare around the country. A chance to be in that type of academic environment with the Honors College they have was another reason.
“Getting to know Coach (Todd) Graham and (offensive coordinator Mike) Norvell, and seeing the wonderful facility renovations they are doing ... I'm just very excited to be part of this up and coming Sun Devil program.”
Dobbs unofficially visited Yale, Harvard and Boston College prior to his ASU visit and also ventured in recent weeks to Duke and Mississippi State.
“I was blessed with the opportunity to see other schools and what they have to offer,” Dobbs commented. “After I took all those visits I had a chance to regroup and reach this decision. Obviously I was comparing everything to the Arizona State visit, but I also wanted to take these visits, step back and looking at everything as a whole in terms of academic, athletics and see what was the best place for me..”
As a junior, the 6-foot-3 190-pound Dobbs completed 59.7 percent of his passes for 3,113 yards with 29 touchdowns and 15 interceptions to lead his team to a 9-2 record. Dobbs also rushed for two touchdowns.
“As a quarterback, he has a lot of things that you like,” said Scout.com recruiting analyst Chad Simmons. “He is a leader in the huddle, he has great pocket awareness, he sees the field very well and he throws an accurate ball. He is still very thin and he still splits time between football and baseball, so he has room to get bigger physically and better technically.”
Dobbs said he's looking forward to playing in the Sun Devils’ fast-paced offense and feels that his skills can fit well into the scheme.
“It’s very similar to what we run in high school, so that’s a great correlation," Dobbs said. The (ASU) coaches like my ability to read defenses, and think I should be able to pick up the offense quickly. They also like how I put the offense in the best situation to make plays. When I called Coach Graham and Coach Norvell, they were very excited for the opportunity to coach me as a Sun Devil.
“When I was on campus, I got to meet the other three great quarterbacks they have, and it was good to talk to them about Arizona State as a school and also as a football program.”
Dobbs, who also plays baseball for Alpharetta High School, said he choose ASU solely for football and is likely to concentrate exclusively on football once he arrives in Tempe next summer.
Dobbs has been offered by over a dozen schools, including Arkansas, Boston College, Duke, Harvard, Illinois, Maryland, Mississippi State, Syracuse and TCU.
“I wanted to commit now because I felt comfortable with my decision,” Dobbs said. “I was comfortable knowing that Arizona State was the place that I wanted to be. After the visit there, I knew that this is where I wanted to be.”
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