Joshua Dobbs provides 11 scholarships to football camp to match number

Vivian Hartsell wanted a way to reward her nephew for his hard work, but didn’t have the money to do much for him.

Jabari Isom, 10, has improved his grades, made honor roll twice and stayed out of trouble.

Hartsell received some help from Joshua Dobbs in providing Jabari with a special gift.

Jabari was offered a scholarship to attend the Joshua Dobbs Football Camp on Saturday at Victor Ashe Park. It’s the inaugural camp hosted by the former Tennessee star quarterback as he begins pursuing an NFL career.

“Everyone is super excited for Jabari to be able to meet someone that is so positive and doing great things and not only just in sports. His academics are also very, very impressive,” Hartsell said. “I am constantly getting at Jabari about Josh being a great student and a great athlete. That is very important to me that he knows you can do both.”

The four-hour camp costs $95 and has spots for 250 players ages 8-16.

Dobbs provided scholarships for 11 children in the Knoxville area to coincide with his UT jersey number. The funding for the scholarships came from the camp sponsorships of Academy Sports and Renasant Bank.

Dobbs selected children from two local Boys & Girls Clubs and Project Elevate, the non-profit started by former UT teammate LaTroy Lewis.

MORE ON JOSHUA DOBBS

• Dobbs honored at UT torchbearer
• Sneak peek at Dobbs appearance on Gruden's QB camp
• UT alumni chapter names scholarship in Dobbs' honor

The 11th scholarship was reserved for A.J. Cucksey, a 6-year-old brain cancer survivor that Dobbs has formed a close bond with since meeting him in 2014.

Along with attending the camp for free, the scholarship players get to take part in a shopping spree on Friday night at Academy Sports.

Jabari, a fifth-grader at Norwood Elementary, attends the Boys & Girls Club of the Tennessee Valley. He plays football, basketball and runs track.

Hartsell has raised Jabari and his 15-year-old older brother since they were 2. She is a stylist who owns her own salon.

“This isn’t something I would have been able to probably afford for him to do if it had not been for the scholarship,” Hartsell said. “I am working on a budget, but I really wanted to give him something like this because he deserves it.”

Reggie Jones, 9, attends Lonsdale Elementary and is a member of the Project Elevate Growing Leadership Program. The “football fanatic” is skipping an AAU basketball tournament to attend Dobbs' camp.

“Josh and LaTroy doing this is a really special thing for my son. They really made my son feel like a special kid with the scholarship,” said Reggie’s father, Reginald Jones II. “He kept telling me about it and actually had his teacher call to remind me to call LaTroy to set everything up.”

As thrilled as she is for Jabari’s opportunity, Hartsell is worried he may have to miss the shopping spree portion of the scholarship. His grandmother, Jeanette Shepard, died last Sunday after a long battle with cancer. Her funeral is Friday night.

“They were really, really close with their grandmother. She had custody of them before I did. But once she got sick with cancer, I had to take over because I wanted her to enjoy her older years. I didn’t want her raising a 2-year-old,” Hartsell said. “She would have loved to see Jabari get this experience. I am hoping we can find a way to make that part work somehow.”