VFL Josh Dobbs Discusses DICK'S 'House of Sports' Coming to Knoxville

Former Tennessee Volunteers star quarterback Josh Dobbs discussess DICK'S House of Sports coming to Knoxville

DICK'S Sporting Goods expanded its nationwide footprint over the weekend as they unveiled their second "House of Sports" in Knoxville (Tenn.). One of the featured guests for the unveiling was former Tennessee Volunteers star quarterback Josh Dobbs.

"It is an honor to be back and see all of the fans here today,' Dobbs told VR2 on SI about the event. "Obviously, just reminiscing on my time here at Tenessee and just how important the community was to me. To be back in the community, it feels very nice, especially to be at a place like DICK'S, which is investing in the community of Knoxville by building their 'House of Sports' here, one of just a couple in the country. It is really cool to be a part of this event back in Knoxville, and I am glad I was invited to it."

The "House of Sports" will serve as any sports lover's dream by providing a vast array of opportunities inside and outside its walls.

"I think it is very important," Dobbs said about the store coming to Knoxville.  "We know how important sports are from this past year, just coming back from COVID. So, to have a place that the youth are all able to gather and take part in whatever their sport is, I think that is really important. For DICK'S to be that place in the community, it goes to show what they are doing in the Knoxville community. They have a beautiful field outside, along with batting cages, the House of Cleats, golf simulators, all throughout the store that are state of the art. It is definitely a really cool place and a place I feel like the community will gravitate toward and be able to come in and hang out and work their craft and have that special place to fellowship."

Since leaving Tennessee, Dobbs has been active in the youth sports community by hosting annual youth camps, which is something he also discussed.

"It is extremely important," he said about giving back to the youth. "You have to be able to believe it. I know along my journey to where I am today, I have had a ton of people pour into me with their time and their efforts, especially other professional players at the time—seeing them on that platform and being able to obtain that platform, who am I not to give back to the next generation. It has been really cool. We had our 4th annual camp this summer last weekend, and we kind of got a sneak peek at the store last week. DICK'S has always been a great sponsor of the camp. This time they allowed us to do a shopping spree, so we go to bring in eleven kids to the new 'House of Sports' a little ahead of time to walk around and see everything, and they were like kids in a candy store. It was really cool for Dick's continue to be around the community, and it was really cool to be able to bring the kids in here for a shopping spree and see how they are going to support the camp moving forward."

Later this month, Dobbs will join up with former teammate Jack Jones to help with a youth camp in Murfreesboro (Tenn.) Dobbs signed a contract in April to rejoin the Pittsburgh Steelers following a one-year stint with the Jacksonville Jaguars.