Linebacker Jacob Dobbs excited to reunite with former coach Bob Chesney at James Madison
The end of the Holy Cross football team’s 2023 season also marked the conclusion of linebacker Jacob Dobbs’ fabulous five-year career as a Crusader, but with one year of eligibility remaining due to a medical redshirt, Dobbs decided to test the transfer portal.
Not surprisingly, Dobbs, a two-time Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year, received plenty of interest from schools such as Rutgers, Michigan, Duke and Vanderbilt, as well as a number of Mid-American Conference programs.
“It was going to take the perfect fit,” Dobbs said in a phone interview from his home in Macomb, Michigan, where he celebrated Christmas with his family, “or I was going to declare (for the NFL Draft).”
On Dec. 7, Bob Chesney, who coached Holy Cross for the last six seasons, became the new coach at James Madison University, and the chance to reunite with Chesney and play for the Dukes presented that ideal situation for which Dobbs was seeking.
“You go down there, and you talk with him,” Dobbs said, “and it’s really hard to say no to playing for Coach Ches for another year.”
Dobbs, who made his official visit to JMU on Dec. 14, will return to Harrisonburg, Virginia, on Jan. 15 to join his new teammates and begin the team’s winter conditioning program. Dobbs, who earned undergraduate degrees from Holy Cross in economics and religious studies, will pursue a master’s at JMU.
“It will be really weird not going back to Holy Cross,” said Dobbs, who was part of HC’s record five straight Patriot League titles. “My heart is always going to be with Holy Cross because it was the greatest five years of my life. It will be a giant adjustment for me, but I’m extremely excited about the future and what the future can hold.
"Unfortunately, you can’t stay at Holy Cross forever, and there comes a time when you’re forced to move on, and I don’t think I can be in a better situation (at JMU) with those fans, the environment and everything JMU offers.”
Thank you once again to Holy Cross for the best five years of my life, I will always be a Crusader forever. With that being said I’m extremely blessed to announce my commitment to JMU! I’m excited to add to the well established championship culture in whatever way I can! #GoDukes pic.twitter.com/tOCAWo0u9p
— Jacob Dobbs (@JLDobbs5) December 20, 2023
JMU, in its second season in the Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Sun Belt Conference, went 11-1 this regular season and fell to Air Force in last week’s Armed Forces Bowl.
“I went down there and fell in love with the place,” Dobbs said, “and I felt that one more year (of playing) could help my pro stock a little bit.”
The last month was a wonderful whirlwind for Dobbs.
Dobbs, who recorded double-digit tackles in every game this season, earned his second PL Defensive Player of the Year honor. He also won the accolade in 2021. Dobbs was just the fourth player in HC history named PL Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Dobbs had a 3.76 cumulative GPA in his double major.
The week before Christmas, Dobbs was one of three winners, along with Michigan running back Blake Corum and Virginia running back Mike Hollins, of the Comeback Player of the Year Award.
In Week 4 of the 2022 campaign, Dobbs suffered a dislocated elbow, a torn UCL, and torn forearm and triceps tendons in a game at Colgate. The devastating injuries ended his season, but Dobbs returned to elite form this year and led the Patriot League in total tackles.
All-America accolades from the Associated Press, Stats Perform and the American Football Coaches Association have rolled in for Dobbs over the last few weeks.
“(The Comeback Player of the Year) is an award that embodies the support group I was fortunate enough to have behind me when I went through that whole thing because there are very few things in life you do alone,” Dobbs said.
He expressed special gratitude for HC associate director of athletics/sports medicine Alicia Caswell and associate strength and conditioning coach/director of football Chris Grautski in his rehabilitation and recovery.
“The team doctors, my surgeons, my teammates and the coaching staff all had a giant part in helping me get back to where I’m at,” Dobbs said. “I’m glad I can be the one to glorify them with that award because it wasn’t something I did alone.”
On Dec. 5, Dobbs represented Holy Cross at the National Football Foundation banquet in Las Vegas as a NFF Scholar-Athlete and finalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy.
Chesney, who was in the midst of finalizing his deal with JMU that week, surprised Dobbs by joining him and his parents, Lou and Michelle, on the special night.
“It meant the world to me and I think it speaks volumes about who Coach Ches is as a person,” Dobbs said. “He’s a coach, but he’s putting the finishing touches on you as a young man. The values he instills in you, the commitment to excellence, the attention to detail, the positive attitude that rubs off on everybody he’s around. He’s a mentor, and he’s an outstanding coach, but his approach to it is much more personal than, ‘Hey, I’m your coach. I’m going to tell you what to do.’
“He cares about you as a human being,” Dobbs added. “He’s invested in you as a person outside of football. Having someone like that is a rarity in this day and age of college football, and I’m lucky I get to play for him for six seasons.”
—Contact Jennifer Toland at jennifer.toland@telegram.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @JenTolandTG.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: After stellar career at Holy Cross, LB Dobbs heads to James Madison
