Bobby Dodd - Player

Player

Bobby Dodd was a quarterback for the Tennessee Volunteers football team from 1928 to 1930, playing under legendary coach Robert Neyland. Dodd wanted to play for Georgia Tech but was not offered a scholarship. Ironically, he would later go on to coach the Yellow Jackets. In the games that Dodd started at UT, the Vols held a record of 27–1–2.

Dodd was a difference in one famous game. During his sophomore year, in his first game of The Third Saturday in October rivalry against Alabama played in Tuscaloosa, "Dodd threw a touchdown pass in that game to tie Alabama, 13–13. Then he punted out of bounds inside the Alabama 1-yard line and Tennessee got a safety on the next play to win, 15–13".

Another instance in Dodd's career foreshadowed the creativity he would use in his coaching career.

"Against Florida in 1930 he got his teammates in a huddle and told them about a play he had used in high school (Dobyns-Bennett). When the ball was snapped, it was placed on the ground unattended. The players ran in one direction. Then the center returned, picked up the ball, and waltzed to the winning touchdown."

This play would later come to be popularly known as the "fumblerooski", after Nebraska famously used it in the 1984 Orange Bowl versus Miami. Tennessee fans even developed a catch phrase for Dodd during his time there: "In Dodd we trust".

During his time at UT, Dodd twice earned All-Southern team honors. Dodd led Tennessee to back-to-back unbeaten seasons with identical 9-0-1 records his sophomore and junior years. During Dodd's era, the Vols went 33 games without a loss until an 18-6 setback against Alabama in 1930, which ranks as the longest unbeaten streak in UT history. After the loss, Dodd and his teammates helped kick off a 28-game unbeaten streak that ranks as the second longest.

In his senior year "The Dodger" again showed his versatility in a 13-0 win against Vanderbilt. Dodd finished with 14 punts for a 42-yard average, had nine carries for 39 yards, was 7-of-12 passing for 159 yards and two touchdowns and intercepted two passes. During that game, Dodd gained 212 all-purpose yards, collecting all but 14 of Tennessee's team total of 226. The Vols finished the 1930 season with 9-1 record, and Dodd earned multiple honors for his dominance on the gridiron.

Dodd was named to Grantland Rice's All American team in 1930, making him the 2nd granted that honor at Tennessee (following Gene McEver). In 1959, Dodd was named to the University of Tennessee's Hall of Fame and to the College Football Hall of Fame as a player. He was elected in the same year as teammate Herman Hickman.