National Football League

Dak Prescott, Zeke and Micah Parsons headline Ep. 1 of 'Hard Knocks'

Updated Aug. 11, 2021 6:05 p.m. ET

Where else would season 16 of HBO's "Hard Knocks," featuring the Dallas Cowboys, begin other than with superstar quarterback Dak Prescott?

The 28-year-old opened the new season of the show talking about his scars and detailing his arduous 2020. He lost his brother, Jace, to suicide in April 2020. Then came the most devastating physical injury of his career, a compound fracture and dislocation of his right ankle on Oct. 11, 2020.

The camera showed the aftermath of his injury, but it was apparent that the scars ⁠— and the ongoing healing that goes with them ⁠— are beyond skin deep for the Cowboys' quarterback.

Prescott's story extended to the practice field, too, where head coach Mike McCarthy's limits on how much action his quarterback was allowed to see made for high drama.

An upset Prescott voiced his displeasure to any and all who would listen, saying, "I sat enough last year," amid a series of expletives.

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Without giving away the whole episode, which you can check out for yourself on HBO or the streaming service HBOMax, some of the other highlights included:

Ezekiel Elliott struggling to wrap a birthday present, Jerry Jones salting up his breakfast (he's just like the rest of us!), special-teams coach John "Bones" Fassel detailing an uncomfortable medical procedure and rookie linebacker Micah Parsons making an early case to be the show's breakout star.

Of course, there was also a game: last Thursday's Hall of Fame Game between the Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers.

But "Hard Knocks" is more about what fans don't get to see between the painted white lines, which led to plenty of reaction Wednesday morning.

To Colin Cowherd of "The Herd," the first episode helped shine a light on the hierarchy within the Cowboys' leadership structure. To Cowherd, Prescott is a bona fide leader, while McCarthy is playing at one.

"Dak Prescott is a total alpha," Cowherd said. "… Dak Prescott doesn't have a phony bone in his body. Like, that kid, I would line up next to and go to the ends of the earth for.

"Mike McCarthy comes off like a 1994 football coach trying to overcompensate. … You can't fool me on TV. The clichés, the swearing. … He's acting like he thinks a football coach should act."

Colin Cowherd's biggest takeaways from Episode 1 of Cowboys' Hard Knocks I THE HERD

Hear why Colin Cowherd believes that 'Dak Prescott is the real deal and Mike McCarthy comes off as unauthentic' on the first episode of ‘Hard Knocks.’

Safe to say McCarthy didn't make a great TV impression on Cowherd.

However, as mentioned, Parsons ⁠— the 12th overall selection by Dallas in the most recent NFL Draft ⁠— stood out in a positive way. As Nate Burleson of NFL Network put it, there was a "childlike approach to the game" from the 22-year-old linebacker.

"He has this bounce to him, and he's going to be flying all over the field," Burleson said. "You almost have to slow him down … rein him in a little bit and say, ‘Hey, young fella. You’ve got a long time before we get to a regular-season game. But more importantly, you've got a long career ahead of you. You don't have to do too much right now.'"

Here are some other reactions to the season debut of "Hard Knocks:"

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