Joshua Dobbs’ father recalls how his 4-year-old son once humbled him in front of a police officer

Vikings' QB Dobbs graduated in aerospace engineering from the University of Tennessee with a 4.0 GPA.

Joshua Dobbs’ father recalls how his 4-year-old son once humbled him in front of a police officer

Josh Dobbs and his father (Via X/knoxnews)

It’s not often to hear stories of NFL players’ childhood, especially one that made them who they are today. As Minnesota Vikings‘ young quarterback is taking the league by storm, a very sweet incident from his childhood surfaced over the internet.

With a QBR of 58.0 this season, Joshua Dobbs is leading the league as one of the quarterbacks. Despite dominating the field with his firmness, Dobbs is known to be very humble. As his father, Robert Dobbs shared one instance from the QB’s childhood involving an encounter with the police.

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One morning, Robert was rushing the 4-year-old Dobbs to his pre-K as he was late for work and they were living in Birmingham. As he was speeding on the parkway, he quickly caught the eye of the police and had to pull over. Interestingly, when the police officer approached him, like everyone else, he immediately denied it, saying: 

I wasn't speeding at all, officer.

But little Joshua knew better, and he told his father:

Dad, you were doing 55. Don’t be mean to the police officer. You should be nice to the police officer.

Robert added:

I was so embarrassed, that I couldn’t do anything but smile and said, ‘Officer, I’m guilty as charged. My kid has already told me I’m guilty." Luckily for them, the officer didn't do anything and told him to be careful saying, 'Sir, slow it down a little bit, you have a nice young man there in the backseat. I’m gonna give you a warning this time.'

Talking about his son with pride, Robert asserted that, if there’s something that the quarterback doesn’t think is right:

He would ask you 55 questions, or he'd convince you that you are in the wrong, you need to do the right thing.

How did Joshua Dobbs get his nickname ‘Passtronaut?’

Talking about his childhood, the 28-year-old quarterback has always had a great interest in space exploration. Not everyone knows this, but before getting into football, Dobbs graduated in aerospace engineering from the University of Tennessee with a 4.0 GPA. He then got an internship opportunity at the Kennedy Space Center and became an ambassador for the Glenn Research Center at NASA.

Josh Dobbs
Josh Dobbs interned for NASA (Via NFL Players Association)

During his appearance on “The Dave Pasch Podcast,” Dobbs shared how much he wanted to go to space, which was even on his bucket list. Though the quarterback isn’t a certified rocket scientist or astronaut, he can be addressed as the “Passtronaut.”

Interestingly, that wasn’t his first nickname relating to space. He was also called “Astro Dobbs.” He even has a personalized hat for him engraved with his nickname.

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