By Casey Redmond –
After his mom’s funeral in 2013, Dak Prescott immediately went back to practice to the surprise of his coaches. He could take time off, they said. Instead, he played and won the next game, scoring the game-winning touchdown.
“My mom would be so mad if I missed the game,” he reportedly told his coaches.
Today, Dak Prescott is the Dallas Cowboys’ starting quarterback. He’s a man of faith, with faith in God and in the abilities God gave him.
Born in Haughton, Louisiana, in 1993, Rayne Dakota Prescott learned to play football with his two older brothers, Jace and Tad, on the grass of a trailer park in a poor section of town.
A biracial child, Dak was shielded from witnessing hardship by a single mom (white) who did everything to give the boys the best upbringing possible. When she didn’t have enough money to pay the electric bill, she rented a motel room (at $40 a night, it was cheaper than paying off a $150 electric bill). The boys thought it was a vacation with swimming in the pool. Mom didn’t let them know the real reason they were there.
Born with severe asthma, Dak was in and out of the hospital. He reportedly overcame the asthma at age 11 when Dad bought him a chihuahua (a folk remedy).
Because he was the youngest of the brothers, Dak became the toughest as he was subject to beatings on the field from bigger kids. When he went crying to Mom Peggy, she would respond: “If you don’t want to play with bigs, stay on the porch.”
“I am going to play quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys,” little Dak would always tell people.
Despite having a great stint as a quarterback in middle school, his high school coaches wouldn’t let him start at QB reportedly because his older brothers played O-line and D-line. So he was typecast.
But in the 11th grade, the coach finally gave him a shot at QB. He had an amazing season, a feat that usually leads to being scouted by top colleges. But Dak’s sole offer came from Mississippi State University.
Dak didn’t mess around his senior season in high school. He got more offers but he had already committed to Mississippi State. In his second year at Mississippi State, Dak got his chance to start when starter Tyler Russell got injured in the first game of the season.
It was the next season that Dak, as starter, lost his mother to colon cancer. She had hidden her diagnosis from Dak for some weeks, wanting to shield him. She still came to all his games.
It was distressing, but Peggy, never one to complain, encouraged Dak to not succumb to depression: “All greats have a story, allow me to be your story.”
He refused to let his mother’s death stop him.
In his two following seasons at Mississippi State, Dak put up phenomenal numbers and led the team to their first, first-place ranking in history. He had performed exceptionally. But would NFL teams draft him? Pundits saw downsides and predicted he’d be a backup QB in the NFL.
In the 2016 draft, seven quarterbacks drafted before him; Jared Goff (who this year brought the Detroit Lions to their first playoff appearance in 30 years) was one of them. The Dallas Cowboys drafted him.
It was a dream come true. He was with the team he dreamed about playing for as a kid.
Once again, he was the second string QB behind Cowboys star Tony Romo.
He chose #4 for his jersey because his mother was born on Sept 4th.
In the preseason, Tony Romo fractured his back, and Dak had to step up in his rookie year. He passed with a 69% completion rate, winning 11 games straight, for 2,700 yards and 24 touchdowns with only two interceptions, taking the Cowboys to the playoffs. He was named the NFL offensive rookie of the year.
When Tony Romo recovered his health, Dak maintained the starting position.
Tragedy again struck the Prescott family in 2020. Deeply troubled by having seen his mother succumb to cancer, middle brother, Jace, committed suicide.
It was devastating news for Dak.
A few months later, Dak suffered a compound fracture to his ankle which suspended him from play for the rest of the season, casting doubt on whether he would ever return.
Dak encouraged himself through his relationship with God: “Excited for God’s purpose and for God’s plan,” he posted on social media. “I know it’s bigger than anything that I see and that I could have imagined, but I trust him. My faith is doubled down more than ever.”
When Dak’s ankle healed, he returned to performing on the field like never before.
In the 2023 season, Dak Prescott led his team to the playoffs, fighting for a shot at the Super Bowl after having won their division. They are the #2 seed, behind the 12-5 San Francisco 49ers.
If you want to know more about a personal relationship with God, go here
About the writer of this article: Casey Redmond studies at Lighthouse Christian Academy near West Los Angeles.
