Mississippi State Bulldogs

Mississippi State Football: Dak Prescott not Getting Enough Credit

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

Former Mississippi State football and current Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott isn’t getting enough credit for his feats in college or the NFL.

Mississippi State football experienced their golden age over the last two years, winning 19 games. Unfortunately for the Mississippi State family, though, the 2016 Bulldogs sit at 2-5 with losses to South Alabama, Kentucky and BYU.

What happened? Dak Prescott graduated.

Tony Romo was injured in 2015, and the Dallas Cowboys used four starting quarterbacks.

Despite best efforts, the Cowboys managed only four wins. Dallas was supposed to be a Super Bowl contender.

Tony Romo was again injured in 2016, but results have been much different this time. The Cowboys are sitting at 5-1, and there is a common thread between the Cowboys and Bulldogs.

The Cowboys drafted former Mississippi State football quarterback with the 135th pick in the 2015 draft. While Prescott has plenty of detractors, he is the commonality between the winning programs.

No, Prescott doesn’t do any one thing amazingly well. Prescott’s legs aren’t as a big of a threat as many portray them to be, and he struggles on deep passes. He does, though own a 68.7 completion percentage to go along with 1,486 yards and 7 touchdowns. In addition, Dak Prescott broke Tom Brady’s record for pass attempts without an interception to begin a career. Anytime a quarterback breaks a Brady record, it is impressive. Prescott has been a source of consistency for a loaded Cowboys team at the game’s most important position. Football fans should not be surprised, though.

His numbers are strikingly similar his 66.2 completion percentage and 29 touchdowns from his senior year at Mississippi State. He also added 29 touchdowns, compared to only 5 interceptions.

You may call Dak a game manager, but let’s not pretend that any quarterback can do it. Dak Prescott has exceeded everyone’s expectations outside of his own. You may also talk about how talented the Cowboy’s roster is, and that is true. Remember, though, that the Cowboys started four different quarterback’s in Romo’s absence last year. Their 2015 was abysmal, much like Mississippi State’s 2016 is shaping up to be.

Dak Prescott may not be the next Peyton Manning, but not every Super Bowl winner is a superstar. While Prescott may never win a Super Bowl, he certainly deserves plenty of credit for being a quality NFL starter. Like it or not, Dak Prescott is the real deal. Whether or not Dallas elects to start Romo this season, 2016 will be the season of Dak Prescott. Without him, there is no way the Cowboys would be where they are right now. Just ask Dan Mullen and Mississippi State football.