The month of May, between the conclusion of the spring semester and the start of summer classes and team workouts, affords college football players across the country some down time.
Josh Dobbs isn't using his to rest.
The Tennessee quarterback isn't breaking down film of Alabama's defense, either.
Dobbs is spending part of this month in Florida for an internship with Pratt & Whitney, the global aerospace manufacturer. The inner workings of plane engines always have piqued Dobbs's interest, and beyond football he has aspirations of someday working on planes. As you know by now, he's an aerospace engineering major.
There are no concerns on Tennessee's part, though, that Dobbs's off-field pursuits will conflict with his preparation for the 2015 season.
"Not when you talk Josh Dobbs," Volunteers coach Butch Jones said before Wednesday night's Big Orange Caravan stop at The Chattanoogan Hotel. "Josh Dobbs can handle that. He's proven that he can handle that.
"Not many people can balance the academics and being a starting quarterback with that curriculum. Josh Dobbs has been able to do that, but he's also been able to do it exceptionally well, both athletically and academically.
"That won't interfere at all. What we've done is we have a couple of lift groups and workout groups, so Josh Dobbs will be part of every team event that we have, every team workout. He won't miss any time with his teammates at all."
Williams update
Tennessee's lack of depth at wide receiver took another hit last month when Von Pearson was suspended after he was identified as the suspect in an ongoing rape investigation, and the senior's future with the Vols is up in the air at best at this point.
The Vols signed just one wide receiver in 2015 in Preston Williams, but he may not be ready for the start of the season after tearing his ACL late in his senior season at Hampton (Ga.) Lovejoy High School.
"Preston is on campus. He's enrolled in a summer class right now. He couldn't wait to get here," Jones said. "But I think we have to be careful of placing too much upon him right now. He's still recovering. The injury that he's recovering from, it's a long process.
"He still can't even run right now, so to say that he'll be available in August camp, I can't say that right now, but he has done a great job to date of the recovery."
The University of Tennessee's Alvin Kamara (6) attempts to shake himself free during the Dish Orange & White Game in Knoxville on Saturday, April 25, 2015.Making the grades
Nine of Tennessee's 10 January enrollees earned grade-point averages of 3.0 or better during the spring semester, Jones said.
Tennessee's academics have undergone a dramatic turnaround under Jones's watch, and though grades for the spring haven't been finalized, the coach is expecting that trend to continue.
"These players have done an exceptional job," he said. "We still haven't had total conclusion to the semester. But I can tell you this, it's probably going to be the greatest offseason academically in the history of Tennessee football."
About 15 players are currently on campus taking mini-term classes while others are enjoying a brief window of rest, and the Vols plan to reconvene in June to start the summer strength and conditioning program.
Tennessee is expecting the rest of its 2015 class to arrive on campus in June. There's some concern with blueshirting athlete Jocquez Bruce out of Knoxville, but that's it. The Vols typically will have one or two players who aren't cleared to begin class and workouts, but that's not expected to be the case this summer.
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.