KNOXVILLE - There is some degree of give and take when it comes to Josh Dobbs.
The Tennessee quarterback does have the tendency to miss open receivers, as he did when he overthrew Josh Smith in the first quarter of last week's 19-8 win at Missouri, but he also brings a rare blend of speed, elusiveness and power when he runs the ball that is vital to the Volunteers' success on offense.
That power was on display when Dobbs ran through one tackler and bounced off two other defenders on his touchdown run in Saturday's victory.
"That's a thing I think he has that people don't recognize a lot," Vols offensive coordinator Mike DeBord said after Tuesday's practice. "Let's go back to Georgia, the last touchdown run, right? He ran through some guys.
"Runs this week, he ran through some people. The touchdown that he had down there at about the 5-yard line, that was a power run again. He does have power. He's more powerful than a lot of people think."
For the season Dobbs has completed 59.7 percent of his passes, but that rate certainly is aided by the number of short throws, swing passes and screens the Vols use. His accuracy down the field was a key part of Tennessee's wins against Georgia and South Carolina, but he's struggled throwing the ball in the past two games against North Texas and Missouri.
Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs (11) runs past the Florida linebacker Antonio Morrison (3) during the second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015, in Gainesville, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)"I think he's done a pretty good job of handling the mechanic part of it," DeBord said. "We've had a lot of injuries there at receiver, and those guys that are playing, they're warriors. We've got guys that are working to come back. Sometimes it's timing with guys. I think he has to continue to work with the timing of all those guys."
The junior is at his best throwing on the run or over the middle. His best throws against Missouri were to Von Pearson and Josh Malone on a couple of rollouts. His throw slightly behind Malone - the ball still was very catchable - cost the Vols a second-quarter touchdown, and his misfire to Smith was the second play of a three-and-out series in the opening quarter.
"The quarterback is a lot like the coaches," Tennessee head coach Butch Jones said Monday. "They get probably too much praise when you win and too much blame when you lose.
"A quarterback is a byproduct of everyone around them, and a lot of times they just see the quarterback standing there. They don't see (maybe) the receiver didn't run the appropriate depth or ran the wrong route, or we didn't do something in protection.
"Josh continues to grow and develop. He's come so far even in this year. There's still a lot of room for development."
Dobbs must be more accurate Saturday against Vanderbilt, which has one of the SEC's better defenses and most efficient red-zone units, where the Commodores rank fifth nationally in opponent scoring percentage.
In two games against Vanderbilt, Dobbs is a combined 22-of-39 passing for 145 yards and four interceptions.
Tennessee did win last season's matchup in Nashville, though, thanks to his running ability. He ran 21 times for 92 yards and two touchdowns. With running back Jalen Hurd and multiple receivers out, the Vols put the ball in Dobbs' hands in the fourth quarter of the 24-17 win.
In a similar grind-it-out mode at Missouri last week, Tennessee relied on its ground game and held the ball for more than 18 minutes while throwing only seven passes in the second half.
"It's how the game went," DeBord said. "We were throwing the ball in the first half, and we were trying to mix it up as much as we could there. Then the second half, it was kind of a different ballgame then, we felt. We were running the ball a little bit more, because sometimes the clock really becomes as issue, too, and that becomes a factor."
The Vols are much more successful when Dobbs is a factor running the ball, and particularly when he's breaking tackles or picking up yards after contact.
"It's not really something that you practice or anything," he said Monday. "You just go out there and you're a competitor and fight for that extra yard. It's something I've had some success at, and I've got to keep having success at to be successful in this offense."
Said DeBord: "I think it's something you can learn. You've got to learn how to carry the football. When you're running quarterback runs and stuff, you've got to know the read of the play, and then also, too, you've got to run with leverage, just like a running back does. He runs with good leverage. He protects himself."
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.