Dak Prescott

Rayne Dakota Prescott (; born July 29, 1993) is an American professional football quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Mississippi State Bulldogs, twice earning first-team All-SEC honors, and was selected by the Cowboys in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL draft. Prescott ranks seventh all-time in completion percentage with at least 1,500 pass attempts, and he is eighth in the NFL's all-time regular season career passer rating.

Intended to serve as a backup in his rookie season, Prescott became the Cowboys' starting quarterback after starter Tony Romo was injured in the preseason. He went on to lead the Cowboys to the conference top seed and set several rookie quarterback records, earning him Offensive Rookie of the Year. For his philanthropy and community impact, he was awarded the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year in 2022. Prescott has led the Cowboys to a total of four division titles, made four Pro Bowl appearances, one All-Pro selection, and finished second in the NFL MVP voting in 2023. Prescott holds several Cowboys team records, including passing yards, completion percentage, and games with three or more touchdown passes.

Early life

Prescott was born in Sulphur, Louisiana, the youngest of three sons to Nathaniel and Peggy Prescott. Prescott's parents divorced when he was in elementary school and he was raised by his mother who worked as a manager of a truck stop. Prescott attended Haughton High School in Haughton, Louisiana, where he played football for the Buccaneers. As a senior, he completed 159 of 258 passes for 2,860 yards and 39 touchdowns. He also rushed for 951 yards on 90 attempts with 17 touchdowns, and led Haughton to become 2010 District 1-AAAA Champions. A three-star recruit, Prescott accepted a scholarship from Mississippi State over offers from Louisiana Tech, LSU, Memphis, Nicholls State, North Texas, and TCU.

College career

Prescott was redshirted as a true freshman with Mississippi State in 2011. As a backup to Tyler Russell in 2012, he played in 12 games, completing 18 of 29 passes for 194 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. He also scored four rushing touchdowns, with 110 yards on 32 carries.

Prescott began as the backup to Russell again in the 2013 season, but took over as the starter when Russell suffered a concussion. He played in 11 games, completing 156 of 267 passes for 1,940 yards with 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also ran for 829 yards on 134 carries with 13 touchdowns. He was the MVP of the 2013 Liberty Bowl after leading the Bulldogs to a 44–7 win over the Rice Owls. His 2013 season performance ranks seventh in passing yards (1,940), tied for fifth in rushing touchdowns (13), and fourth in total yards (2,769) and total touchdowns (23). Following the season, he was named to the 2013 Southeastern Conference (SEC) Fall Academic Honor Roll.

In his first season as a full-time starter in 2014, Prescott led the Bulldogs to a 10–2 regular season record, its first #1 ranking in program history, and led them to the Orange Bowl. During the 2014 season, Prescott broke 10 school records including: single season passing yards (3,449), total yards of total offense (4,435), passing touchdowns (27), and total touchdowns (41). Additionally his 14 rushing touchdowns is tied for fourth in school history. Prescott also garnered several accolades throughout and following the season. He was named the Manning Award Player of the Week five times (vs. UAB, at LSU, vs. Texas A&M, vs. Auburn, vs. Vanderbilt); the 2014 SEC Offensive Player of the Week three times (at LSU, vs. Auburn, vs. Vanderbilt); the Athlon Sports, Davey O'Brien, Maxwell Award Player of the Week twice each (at LSU, vs. A&M); and the 24/7 Sports National Offensive Player of Week (at LSU). He was named a 2014 Honorable Mention All-American by SI.com; named to the 2014 First-team All-SEC team by the AP, Coaches, and ESPN.com; and on the 2014 SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll. He won the Conerly Trophy and was a finalist for the Maxwell Award, the Davey O'Brien Award, the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm award, and the Manning Award. He also finished eighth in the 2014 Heisman Trophy voting and received two first-place votes.

Before the 2015 season, he was named a 2015 National Player of the Year Candidate, was selected to two Preseason All-American teams (Athlon Sports and Phil Steele), and was chosen First-team Preseason All-SEC by the media. During the 2015 season, he became the fourth player in FBS history to pass for 60 touchdowns and rush for 40 touchdowns in a career, joining Dan LeFevour of Central Michigan, Tim Tebow of Florida, and Colin Kaepernick of Nevada. His 2,411 rushing yards places him third in all-time rushing yards by a quarterback in SEC history behind Tebow and Matt Jones of Arkansas. He ranks fourth in SEC history with 107 total touchdowns responsible for (passing, rushing, and receiving) and fifth in total yards (rushing and passing) with 11,153. His streak of 288 consecutive pass attempts without an interception is the longest in school history and third-longest in SEC history. In the Bulldogs' 2015 game against the Arkansas, he set the school single game record and tied the SEC single game record for touchdowns responsible for with seven (five passing two rushing) and set a new school record for touchdown passes in a single game. He was named the AutoNation National Offensive Player of the Week by the Football Writers Association of America, the Davey O'Brien Award National Quarterback of the Week, a Manning Award Star of the Week by the Allstate Sugar Bowl, and the SEC offensive player of the week following his performance in the Bulldogs' victory over Kentucky, a game in which he passed for 348 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 117 yards and three touchdowns. The six touchdowns in a single contest tied the school record set by Jackie Parker in 1952 and Prescott became the first player in school history to throw for over 300 yards and rush for over 100 yards in the same game. This was the fourth time that he has been named SEC Offensive Player of the Week, the most in program history. Prescott received further national recognition by being placed on several national award watch lists including being named a finalist for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, a semifinalist for both the Maxwell Award and the Davey O'Brien Award, placed on the watch list for the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award, the Manning Award, the Wuerffel Trophy, and the Senior Bowl, and won the Senior CLASS Award as well as being awarded the 2017 NCAA Today's Top 10 Award. For the season he passed for 3,793 yards, 29 passing touchdowns and 10 rushing touchdowns.

For his career, Prescott finished third in SEC history in total yards, and fourth in total touchdowns.

Prescott holds 38 Mississippi State school records, and is the most decorated player in school history.

Statistics

Records and honors

• Single game record for passing yards in the Orange Bowl (453)
• Single game record for passing attempts in the Orange Bowl (51, tied)
• Single game record for passing completions in the Orange Bowl (33, tied)
• Single game record for passing yards in the Belk Bowl (380)
• Single game record for total yards in the Belk Bowl (427)
• Single game record for touchdown passes in the Belk Bowl with (4, tied)
• 2016 Senior Bowl Most Outstanding Player
• 2015 Senior Class Award
• 2014 and 2015 Conerly Trophy
• 2015 Belk Bowl MVP
• 2013, 2014, and 2015 SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll
• 2015 SEC Offensive Player of the Week (at Arkansas and vs. Kentucky)
• 2014 and 2015 First-team All-SEC (AP and Coaches)
• 2014 SEC Offensive Player of Week (at LSU, vs. Auburn, and vs. Vanderbilt)
• 2013 Liberty Bowl MVP

Professional career

2016 season

The Dallas Cowboys entered the 2016 NFL draft with a plan to acquire a young quarterback to develop behind Tony Romo. After failing to trade up to select Paxton Lynch and Connor Cook, they selected Prescott in the fourth round (135th overall). He was the first quarterback selected by the Cowboys since the 2009 NFL draft. He was signed to a four-year deal.

When Prescott joined the Cowboys for their rookie mini camp, he was issued #10 since veteran wide receiver Devin Street wore his college number 15. During the first week of rookie mini camp, he decided to switch to #4 in honor of his mother, whose birthday is on September 4.

The rookie moved up on the depth chart when backup quarterback Kellen Moore broke his right tibia during the first week of training camp and after the Cowboys could not reach an agreement with the Cleveland Browns to trade for backup Josh McCown.

After Moore's injury, Prescott competed with second-year quarterback Jameill Showers for the backup job to established starter Tony Romo. Several reports from August training camp indicated that Showers outperformed Prescott, showing greater accuracy and a quicker release. However, the Cowboys coaching staff made the decision to start Prescott in the team's preseason opener at the Los Angeles Rams. Working with the Cowboys' first-team offense, Prescott completed 10 of 12 passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns in one half of action, though Dallas would lose the game 28–24. Prescott continued his hot streak throughout the rest of the preseason, impressing all with his veteran-like pocket poise and decision making.