BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Tennessee shined in the spotlight on Wednesday at the 2015 SEC Football Media Days at the Hyatt Regency Birmingham – The Wynfrey Hotel.

Tennessee football head coach Butch Jones spoke to the media on a variety of topics, including the continued improvement of the program and the rising expectations the Vols will face this season.

Junior quarterback Joshua Dobbs, redshirt senior linebacker/defensive lineman Curt Maggitt and junior defensive back Cameron Sutton discussed various topics, including how far Tennessee has come back over the past few seasons and their own goals for the upcoming year.

Check out the links above to see what Jones, Dobbs, Maggitt and Sutton had to say at 2015 SEC Football Media Days!

CEO Dobbs Embraces Leadership Role

By Brian Rice/UTSports.com

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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — When the 2014 season began, Joshua Dobbs was likely going to spend his year on the sidelines for Tennessee.

Though he had made plays in a starting role down the stretch as a freshman a season earlier when pressed into service due to injury, the development in his game still had him down on the depth chart.

Though he knew the plan, Dobbs prepared every week as if he was the starter. It was a process that accelerated his development and had his confidence high when injuries at the position once again put him in the role he prepared every week to fill.

“I feel like before I was even playing, I did a great job utilizing the reps I was getting,” Dobbs said. “I treated them as game reps and that helped me once I got my opportunity.”

His opportunity came against Alabama, where he entered a game that the Volunteers trailed early. He finished 19-of-32 for 192 yards and two touchdowns through the air and carried the ball 19 times for 75 yards, the most by a Vols quarterback since Tee Martin’s 81 yards against Syracuse in 1998.

“I think that helped it a great deal,” Butch Jones said of his quarterback’s growth that night. “I think also the Alabama game also helped his teammates around him with confidence. You look at a young man who we started the season off and his idea was he was going to be redshirted, and it’s a great illustration to younger players that you never know when your time is going to be called. And when your time is called, you have to make sure you put all the work and preparation into that to take advantage of that opportunity.”

A week later, his star exploded in a comeback win over South Carolina where he accounted for over 400 yards of total offense. The question quickly became not where did this come from, but where was this guy all year?

“I’ve been asked that a lot,” Jones said. “I think every player in your program develops differently, and Josh wasn’t quite ready there. He was close, but he wasn’t ready. In everything, we don’t ever want to put a player in prior to his time. To Josh’s credit, he kept working. Was he game ready for Game 1? No. But he continued to work and progress so that, when he did receive his opportunity in the Alabama game, he took great advantage of that. Each player develops at their own pace in being able to play winning football, and Josh has been able to do that now.”

Dobbs’ star grew from there, a performance down the stretch that left him as the unquestioned starting quarterback for Tennessee in 2015. It was a challenge that he embraced in the off-season, not just to develop his own game, but to raise the play of his teammates as well.

“I have done a great job putting myself in various situations, just in practice getting ready for this upcoming season so for me and as a team, you’re going to see a team that’s motivated and driven to win,” Dobbs said. “We are excited for this upcoming season and have taken a lot of steps forward last season and throughout this offseason, so we will be ready to go come September.”

Dobbs’ performance last season and in the spring has left an impression on his teammates and his head coach.

“He’s proven himself,” Jones said. “We understand what we’re getting with Josh, and we always talk about consistency and performance. And we know what we’re getting with Josh day in and day out, week in and week out. He’s done a tremendous job.

“We challenged him this spring to be what we call a CEO quarterback, an individual who owns the team, who owns the offense, that can solve problems on his own, that can provide the leadership and stability that you expect from that position. So we’re excited about him.”

Dobbs’ goals are not based on completions or yards or even touchdowns. He wants to embrace the leadership role he has been entrusted with.

“My goal is to be the best motivator I can be for this team,” Dobbs said. “I know I do that, I push the players and hold them accountable and hold them to a high standard then I’ll get the most out of them. If I put in the extra hours, it motivates them to do the same, so if we do that and take advantage of all our opportunities this year, we will be successful.”