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'Dawgs beat 'Pack in Dak's Final Game
By: Michael Bonner, The Clarion-Ledger
CHARLOTTE — Dan Mullen noticed “it” during Dak Prescott’s performance in the 2010 Big Dawg Camp, an annual summer gathering of Mississippi State's top football recruits.
“You could kind of see he was separating himself from all these elite players,” Mullen said. “Not in performance but in how he carried himself and how he led all these other guys that he had that ‘it’ factor.”
Through five years in Starkville, Prescott captured 38 school records, was a two-time All-SEC quarterback and won back-to-back Conerly Trophies (the first to do so). He guided the program to its first-ever No. 1 ranking, snapped a 14-game losing streak against LSU, and brought Mississippi State to its first Orange Bowl appearance in more than 70 years.
He accomplished it all with more than statistics. Prescott possessed a larger-than-life aura within Davis Wade Stadium, on campus and throughout the Starkville community.
MSU began playing football in 1895. One-hundred-and-sixteen seasons later, Dak Prescott stands alone atop the pantheon of Bulldog legends. Those who bleed maroon and white believe no one will ever join him.
“You go back in the history and you look at all the quarterbacks and the guys that have played, you would have to put Dak Prescott No. 1,” Coach Jackie Sherrill said. “Not only because of his play, but also because of his character and everything he’s done for Mississippi State off the field.”
Numbers and individual awards only reveal half of Prescott’s legacy. The quarterback unlocked expectations for Mississippi State that are normally reserved for the Alabamas and LSUs of college football.
“If there’s one person besides the head coach who has done more to change Mississippi
Five years ago, Prescott committed to Mississippi State, a school with two bowl trips since the turn of the century. Now, with five bowl trips in five years, winning four of them, Prescott can reminisce about his time at Mississippi State.
“I envisioned being great,” Prescott said. “Playing for a great team, even bigger things than we were capable of doing here. For it all to be actually real, for it all to become real, it’s so special.”
*Full article available at Clarion-Ledger.
The Bulldogs beat the NC State Wolfpack 51-28 in the rain-soaked Bank of America Stadium on December 30th to claim the 2015 Belk Bowl. The win contributed to a strong postseason performance from the entire Southeastern Conference, as the ten teams playing combined for an 8-2 record.
Dak Prescott shined in his final game, as he completed 25/42 passes for 380 yards (a Belk Bowl record), 4 touchdowns and 1 INT. He added 47 yards on the ground on 12 carries. Dak was honored as the game's MVP, and joined Colin Kaepernick, Tim Tebow, and Dan LeFevour as the only players in FBS history to throw for 9,000 yards and run for 2,500 in their career.
Two touchdowns went to Brandon Holloway, one to Fred Ross, and one to De'Runnya Wilson. Wilson declared that he will enter the NFL Draft alongside his quarterback.