Dak Prescott and the 10 most underrated college football quarterbacks of all time
By Ethan Lee
No. 5: Underrated college football quarterbacks – Dak Prescott, Mississippi State
Prior to Dan Mullen‘s arrival, Starkville, Mississippi was a very difficult place to have any sort of college football success. The program, historically, has a meager history and happens to be lodged in what is arguably the most talent-rich division of all of college football. That makes what Dak Prescott was able to accomplish during his time at Mississippi State even more remarkable.
Under Mullen’s guidance, Prescott played sparingly in his redshirt freshman season, filling a role that allowed him to get some experience and a few touchdowns in 2012, but not much more.
In 2013, Mississippi State’s starting quarterback, Tyler Russell, went down with an injury in MSU’s first game of the season, bringing Dak up to the plate. For a young quarterback who was still developing, he played well but was clearly out of his depth against the SEC’s best teams. And around halfway through the season, his mother passed away following a fight with cancer.
Dak would be dealt his own injury that sidelined him for a few weeks, but a miraculous comeback in the Egg Bowl with a bowl game on the line helped cement his legacy amongst MSU fans. And a huge Liberty Bowl win over a 10-win Rice team certainly proved Dak was capable of leading Mississippi State heading into the 2014 season.
Has there been a more underappreciated college QB this century than Dak Prescott?
— Patrick Schmidt (@PatrickASchmidt) November 22, 2015
As it turns out, 2014 is when many college football fans became aware of who he was. Thanks to Prescott’s remarkable performances, the Bulldogs beat No. 8 LSU, No. 6 Texas A&M, and No. 2 Auburn, elevating an overlooked SEC West program to No. 1 for the first time in school history. That spot in the polls didn’t last, but MSU had an incredible season. During that season, Prescott completed 61.6 percent of his passes for 3,449 yards and 27 touchdowns against 11 picks. He also ran for 986 yards and 14 touchdowns.
In 2015, Dak became a more polished passer, completing 66.2 percent of his passes and throwing for 3,793 yards and 29 touchdowns against five interceptions. Prescott ran for 588 yards and 10 more touchdowns as MSU won nine games that year.
In his career, Dak threw for 9,376 yards and 70 touchdowns while rushing for 2,521 yards and 41 touchdowns (he also caught three touchdown passes). Prescott’s phenomenal play elevated Mississippi State from being an obscure program in a rural college town right onto the national stage. That’s never really happened before for the Bulldogs and it’s a feat that will be hard for anyone to replicate.