Dak Prescott

Early years

Prescott was the youngest of Peggy Prescott's three children. While she 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. Peggy had colon cancer and died on November 3, 2013.

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. He completed 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 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 thee Week three times (at LSU; vs. Auburn; vs. Vanderbilt), the Athlon Sports, Davey O'Brien, Maxwell Award Player of the Week two times each (at LSU, vs. A&M), and was the 24/7 Sports National Offensive Player of Week (at LSU). He was named a 2014 Honorable Mention All-American by SI.com, was named to the 2014 First-Team All-SEC team by the AP, Coaches, and ESPN.com and was on the 2014 SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll. He won the Conerly Trophy, 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.

Prior to 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 4th 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 throwing an interception is the longest in school history and the third longest SEC history. In the Bulldogs' 2015 game against 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 to go along with 117 yards and three rushing 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. He holds 38 school records.

Records and honors

Professional career

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). When Prescott joined the Dallas Cowboys for their rookie mini camp, he was issued #10 since veteran wide receiver Devin Street occupied 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. He is the first Dallas Cowboys quarterback in history to wear #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.

After starting quarterback Tony Romo suffered a vertebral compression fracture during the first quarter of the Cowboys' Week 3 preseason game against the Seattle Seahawks, and in light of Romo's projected 8–10 week recovery time, Prescott was named the Cowboys starter for the beginning of the 2016 season.

Prescott's first regular-season start came on September 11 at home against the New York Giants, becoming the fourth rookie quarterback to open the season as a starter in franchise history, and the first rookie to start at quarterback for the Cowboys since Quincy Carter in 2001. He totaled 227 passing yards, as the Cowboys lost, 20–19. During Week 2 against the Washington Redskins, Prescott had 292 passing yards and a rushing touchdown as the Cowboys won, 27–23. Prescott threw his first NFL touchdown, a 17-yarder to Dez Bryant, during the Cowboys' Week 3 matchup against the Chicago Bears. In total, he threw for 248 yards, the one touchdown, and also had a rushing score. The Cowboys won 31–17. In Week 4 at the San Francisco 49ers, Prescott passed for two touchdowns and 245 yards as the Cowboys won, 24–17. Against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 5, Prescott threw for 227 yards and a touchdown while rushing for a touchdown in a 28–14 Cowboys victory. During Week 6 against the Green Bay Packers, Prescott had three touchdowns and 247 passing yards as the Cowboys won 30–16. The game marked the end of Prescott's interception-free streak. After a bye week, the Cowboys faced off against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 8, and fellow rookie quarterback Carson Wentz for their first career matchup. The Cowboys prevailed in overtime 29–23, with Prescott totaling three touchdowns (two passing and one rushing) on 287 passing yards.

Week 9 saw the Cowboys beat the Cleveland Browns 35–10, with Prescott providing 247 passing yards and three touchdowns. In Week 10 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Cowboys won 35–30, with Prescott passing for 319 yards and three touchdowns. The Cowboys continued their win streak in Week 11 by beating the Baltimore Ravens 27–17 with Prescott throwing for 301 yards and three touchdowns. Week 12's annual Thanksgiving game provided a 31–26 win over the Washington Redskins. Prescott had two touchdowns (one rushing and one passing) and 195 passing yards. His outstanding performance in November earned him Offensive Rookie of the Month.

During Week 13 against the Minnesota Vikings, the Cowboys won 17–15, with Prescott passing for 139 yards and one touchdown. In Week 14, the Cowboys were dealt their second loss on the season, by a score of 7–10, from division rival New York Giants, with Prescott passing for 169 yards and one touchdown in the contest. In Week 15, the Cowboys beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 26–20, with Prescott providing 279 passing yards and one rushing touchdown. Against the Detroit Lions in Week 16, the Cowboys won 42–21. Prescott passed for 212 yards and three touchdowns. In the Week 17 regular season finale, with the top playoff seed in the NFC clinched, the Cowboys decided to rest several starters. They lost to the Philadelphia Eagles 13–27, with Prescott only attempting eight passes for a total of 37 yards before being benched. As a rookie, Prescott started all 16 games with 3,667 passing yards, 282 rushing yards, 29 total touchdowns, and only four interceptions, and his 67.8% completion percentage ranked No. 4 among NFL quarterbacks in 2016.

With the Cowboys finishing the season with a 13–3 record, the team clinched the NFC East title. In the divisional round of the NFL playoffs, the Cowboys faced the Green Bay Packers. Prescott completed 24 of 38 for 302 yards, with a quarterback rating of 103.2, and three touchdowns and an interception. Despite his strong performance, the Cowboys lost 31–34, ending their season. After a spectacular rookie season, Prescott was named the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, receiving 28 of 50 votes, beating out teammate Ezekiel Elliott by 7 votes.

Career highlights & awards

NFL records

In Week 6 of the 2016 season, Prescott, with 176 attempts, broke the record for most consecutive pass attempts without an interception to start a career; a record previously held by Tom Brady at 162 attempts in 2000-2001. This is also the record for consecutive attempts without an interception by a rookie, having broken the record set by Carson Wentz at 134 earlier in 2016. Wentz and Prescott had been exchanging the rookie record after having broken the Chad Hutchinson record of 95 set in 2002.

Prescott finished his 2016 rookie regular season with a record 11 games with an over 100 NFL passer rating, breaking the rookie record of 9 games set by Russell Wilson in 2012. He tied the Ben Roethlisberger 2004 rookie record of winning 13 games as a starter. His NFL passer rating of 104.9 broke Robert Griffin III's rookie record of 102.4 set in 2012. His 0.87% interception to attempts (459-4) broke the rookie record of 1.27% (393-5) set by Robert Griffin III. He threw 23 TDs and 4 INTs for a TD to INT ratio of 5.75 breaking the previous rookie record of 4.00 (20 TDs and 5 INTs) set by Robert Griffin III, and for a TD to INT differential of 19 breaking Russell Wilson's rookie record of 16 (26 TDs and 10 INTs). His 67.76% pass completion percentage broke the rookie record of 66.44% set by Ben Roethlisberger. In a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on December 18, 2016, Prescott, with an 88.9% completion percentage, broke the rookie single game record of 87.0% set by Mike Glennon in 2013.

Personal life

He is the son of Nathaniel and Peggy Prescott and has two older brothers, Tad and Jace, and an older sister, Natalie Prescott-Smith, and older brother, Elliott Prescott, from his father's previous marriage. Jace was an offensive lineman at Northwestern State. His mother died of colon cancer in November 2013. His father is an African American and his late mother European American.