Ricky Dobbs Jr. (born January 31, 1988) is a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

officer, politician and former college football

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

for the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

currently serving as the District 1 Douglas County, Georgia Commissioner. During the 2009 season he broke the single season college football record for most rushing

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...

s by a quarterback with 27.

High school

Dobbs was known as "the Mayor" by his teachers at Douglas County High School in Douglasville, Georgia. He was the recipient of the Faculty Cup at his commencement ceremony in 2006. Dobbs was also voted Homecoming King & Mr.DCHS by his peers.Brian Heyma
Inspired by Obama, Navy Quarterback's Sights Are Set on 2040
November 8, 2009 New York Times He had an offer to play wide receiver for

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

, but chose Navy in part because of medical benefits for himself and family as well as opportunities beyond football and service to his country.Doug Lesmerise
Ohio State football: Navy quarterback Ricky Dobbs wants to be president
Ohio State Buckeyes Football & Basketball Blog, Analysis & Commentary by Doug Lesmerises September 03, 2009 Cleveland.com

College football career

Dobbs ran the

triple option The triple option is an American football play used to offer several ways to move the football forward on the field of play. The triple option is based on the option run, but uses three players who might run with the ball instead of the two used i ...

offense for the Navy Midshipmen.Thomas Boswel
A player and team worthy of salute
Saturday, November 21, 2009 Washington Post

2008 season

Dobbs rushed for 499 yards and eight touchdowns.Player profile (stats)
ESPN Navy was honored at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

in April 2009 for winning a sixth straight Commander-in-Chief's Trophy, and Dobbs said he autographed a helmet presented to President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

five times "so Obama would remember him".

2009 season

During his first full year as a starter, Dobbs rushed for more than 1,000 yards and had 1031 passing yards and six passing touchdowns. The team had the second best rushing offense in terms of yards. Dobbs missed one game and most of another with a broken bone in his knee. Navy beat Notre Dame, but lost to

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

. Dobbs tied Tim Tebow's record 23 rushing touchdowns for a quarterback on November 27. On December 12 against arch rival Army, Dobbs ran for his 24th rushing touchdown on the season, making him at the time the record holder for most rushing touchdowns by a

in a single season. Navy played in the

Texas Bowl The Texas Bowl is an annual postseason NCAA-sanctioned Division I FBS college football bowl game first held in 2006 in Houston, Texas. Each edition of the bowl has been played at NRG Stadium, previously known as Reliant Stadium. The bowl replaced ...

on December 31 against

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, their seventh straight bowl game. Dobbs ran for 166 yards and three touchdowns in the game and completed 9 of 14 passes for 130 yards and a fourth touchdown in a 35–13 victory. Dobbs finished with the NCAA record of 27 single-season quarterback rushing touchdowns and was named the game's MVP. His final collegiate game was the 2011 East–West Shrine Game. Since his graduation, TV announcers have gotten Dobbs to be a special guest caller while on board his current ship during a few of the televised Navy Midshipmen's football games in 2012 and 2013, giving the viewers an update on his career.

Naval career

After graduating the Naval Academy on May 27, 2011, Dobbs, who had studied to be a

surface warfare officer The surface warfare insignia is a military badge of the United States Navy which is issued to U.S. Navy personnel who are trained and qualified to perform duties aboard United States surface warships. There are presently four classes of the surf ...

, received his choice assignment of wanting to be on a destroyer. At his request, Dobbs was assigned to the ''

USS Oscar Austin USS ''Oscar Austin'' (DDG-79) is an in the United States Navy. ''Oscar Austin'' is named for Medal of Honor and Purple Heart recipient Private First Class Oscar P. Austin. This ship is the 29th destroyer of her class. USS ''Oscar Austin'' was t ...

'', a sophisticated

Arleigh Burke Arleigh Albert Burke (October 19, 1901 – January 1, 1996) was an admiral of the United States Navy who distinguished himself during World War II and the Korean War, and who served as Chief of Naval Operations during the Eisenhower and Kenn ...

class destroyer named after an African-American Marine who received the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valo ...

for heroic conduct, losing his life while attempting to save the life of a fellow Marine in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

. During his 2 ½-year tour aboard the ship, deployed off the coast of

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

, Dobbs served as an ensign and main propulsion division officer, and performed maritime security operations. During the televised 2014 Navy vs. Western Kentucky game,

CBS Sports Network CBS Sports Network (a.k.a. CBSSN) is an American pay television network owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global. When it launched in 2002 as the National College Sports Network (later College Sports Television also known a ...

commentators John Sadak and

Randy Cross Randall Laureat Cross (born April 25, 1954) is an American football analyst and former player. He was a right guard and center in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the UCLA Bruins and was inducted into the Colle ...

announced while in a sponsored ''

Bass Pro Shop BPS Direct, L.L.C, doing business as Bass Pro Shops, is an American privately held retailer which specializes in hunting, fishing, camping, and other related outdoor recreation merchandise. With headquarters in Springfield, Missouri, Bass Pr ...

s'' segment entitled "Where are they now?" that Dobbs is still serving his 5-year commitment currently on board the '' USS Sirocco'', a

Cyclone-class patrol ship The ''Cyclone''-class patrol ships are a class of United States Navy coastal patrol boats. Most of these ships were launched between 1992 and 1994. The primary mission of these ships is coastal patrol and interdiction surveillance, an important ...

bound for

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

. He spent 18 months aboard the ship serving as operations officer, executive officer, legal officer, and navigator as the vessel performed coastal patrol and interdiction surveillance in the region. Dobbs was stationed at the Naval Academy through the end of 2017, working as a recruiting counselor in the admissions office. He held the title of Candidate Guidance Officer for the states of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

and the

Virgin Islands The Virgin Islands ( es, Islas Vírgenes) are an archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. They are geologically and biogeographically the easternmost part of the Greater Antilles, the northern islands belonging to the Puerto Rico Trench and St. Cro ...

. He's undecided whether he will remain in the service or process out upon completion of his assignment. However, Dobbs does still dream of playing professional football, whether in the NFL or the

CFL The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

. He also has aspirations to run for U.S. President in 2040.

Professional career

In 2012 and 2013, while still serving in the Navy, Dobbs played semi-pro football for the Virginia Cyclones. The Naval Academy graduate still has aspirations to get a chance to try out for the NFL someday and run for the U.S. presidency.Tom Robinso
Navy standout QB looks for a long shot in the NFL
March 21, 2013 The Virginia Pilot In 2018, Dobbs participated in the

American Flag Football League The American Flag Football League is a semi-professional flag football league started in 2017. The league was founded by Jeff Lewis in May 2017. Lewis spent nine months building the league, getting investors, setting the rules, and finding player ...

, serving as captain of the Primetime team.

Political career

One of Dobbs' idols is President

. He was vice president of USNA class of 2011. He said that he wanted to become the first black president, but after Obama was elected, has stated "I guess I'll be the second now." He has a five-year military commitment after graduation. On May 18 2023, Dobbs was appointed by Governor

Brian Kemp Brian Porter Kemp (born November 2, 1963) is an American businessman and politician serving as the 83rd governor of Georgia since January 2019. A member of the Republican Party, Kemp served as the 27th secretary of state of Georgia from 2010 to ...

to serve as the interim District 1 Douglas County, Georgia Commissioner in the wake of Commissioner Henry Mitchell's corruption indictment. Dobbs was joined by retired Sheriff Phil Miller who replaced Romona Jackson Jones, the Chairwoman having also been indicted for the same charges as Mitchell. Dobbs and Miller were sworn-in by Superior Court Chief Justice William McClain the next day.

Personal life

Dobbs was born in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

and is the son of an

electrician An electrician is a tradesperson specializing in electrical wiring of buildings, transmission lines, stationary machines, and related equipment. Electricians may be employed in the installation of new electrical components or the maintenance ...

and a

beautician Cosmetology (from Greek , ''kosmētikos'', "beautifying"; and , ''-logia'') is the study and application of beauty treatment. Branches of specialty include hairstyling, skin care, cosmetics, manicures/ pedicures, non-permanent hair removal such a ...

. He is friends with NFL quarterbacks Doug Williams and

Shaun King Jeffery Shaun King (born September 17, 1979) is an American writer, civil rights activist and co-founder of Real Justice PAC. King uses social media to promote social justice causes, including the Black Lives Matter movement. King was raised ...

. On June 13, 2010, Dobbs was awarded a key to his hometown of Douglasville, Georgia by mayor Mickey Thompson. The day was also declared "Ricky Dobbs Day" in the city.Helen McCo
'Ricky Dobbs Day' honors Navy quarterback, DCHS grad
June 13, 2010 Douglas County Sentinel As of 2016, Dobbs is an assistant coach for an 11 and under football team fielded by the

Peninsula Athletic League Peninsula Athletic League (PAL) is a high school athletic conference in California, part of the CIF Central Coast Section of the California Interscholastic Federation. It comprises 17 high schools generally around San Mateo County, California. T ...

References

External links

Navy Midshipmen bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dobbs, Ricky 1988 births Living people 21st-century American politicians County commissioners in Georgia (U.S. state) American football quarterbacks Navy Midshipmen football players Players of American football from Atlanta United States Navy officers