A surprising highlight clip of Dak Prescott went viral on Sunday. It wasn't a touchdown throw or an impressive run, it was Prescott on the sidelines ensuring that a Gatorade cup he drank from was thrown away.
The Cowboys rookie quarterback drew praise for attempting to throw away a cup, noticing that it didn't land in the trash can and then going to pick the cup up. It's a little thing, it doesn't provide perfect analysis of his character, but it does show at least a little shallow insight into his character.
"He's a neat freak."Cowboys coach Jason Garrett on Dak Prescott
Or maybe, as Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said Monday during his press conference, he's just weird about being clean.
"That he's a neat freak," Garrett joked when asked what he thinks the cup incident says about Dak. "I would say that's a positive story about Dak. Yes."
Garrett had also previously broken down Prescott the person, talking at length about the things that the young quarterback and how his actions as a person and the great things they heard about Prescott influenced their decision to draft him and has helped him be a leader on the team.
"Well, we have so many great reports about him as a person from the people around him at Mississippi State," Garrett said. "We could see a lot of the things that everybody could see as a player on the field. Their endorsements of him as a person, as a leader, as someone who's had such a positive impact on that program. They were really strong. Everybody we talked to down there. That was a big part of his attraction to us. We talk a lot about the right kind of guys and the right kind of guy at the quarterback position is critical to your organization. The best part about it is we've gotten a chance to see that up close.
"Again, you've heard me say this a number of times, but we saw it right from the start when he came to Valley Ranch and we had a chance to spend time with him and then once we drafted him when he came in for the first rookie minicamp. Just handled himself the right way. A professional, a natural leader, prepares really, really well for every opportunity. So it's been great to have him. There's no question about that. A big part of his success has a lot to do with who he is as a person."
We spoke to Dak on the CBS Sports Roughing the Passer Podcast (subscribe on iTunes here) several weeks ago, and he noted the similarity in his playbook between Mississippi State and Dallas. That's been helpful for the transition obviously.
But the personality traits and positive behavior came out then, too -- Prescott was doing a promotional deal with Buffalo Wild Wings, but it was centered around helping a local school with football supplies.
The bottom line is he's a good kid who approaches the game the right away. It's manifested itself in success on the field for the Cowboys and a belief in this team that Dak is a leader.
Again, the cup thing is small and silly. But it doesn't mean it can't be a microcosm of Prescott's behavior with Dallas.
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