Emotions will Run High for Prescott Against Arkansas
Oct 25, 2014; Lexington, KY, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs quarterback Dak Prescott (15) runs the ball in the first half against the Kentucky Wildcats at Commonwealth Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports
Today is October 31st. Monday will be November 3rd. Nothing really special about either date, except that today is Halloween. Most dates aren’t. The funny thing about dates is that certain ones can have special meanings to certain individuals. What makes tomorrow, November 1st, significant is that it has been exactly 52 weeks since Dak Prescott played South Carolina. Monday will be exactly one year since the passing of his mother Peggy.
52 weeks ago, Mississippi State was getting ready to play in a pivotal game in the course of their season. The Bulldogs had just gone over .500 for the first time, but there were a lot of fans that weren’t real happy because the team looked mediocre in wins against Bowling Green and Kentucky. Mississippi State was preparing to play South Carolina, Texas A&M, and Alabama. Of the three, many thought South Carolina might be the most winnable.
Dak Prescott was named the starter, but Dan Mullen had talked openly about how Tyler Russell would still see playing time. That was all the fans could think about. I can’t help but wonder though what was going through the mind of Dak Prescott as he left Starkville to head to Columbia, SC. We all knew Peggy Prescott was battling cancer, but many weren’t real sure just how bad it was for the mother of the player who would become a star less than a year later. While it is possible that Peggy Prescott took a dramatic turn for the worse on the Sunday morning following that game, it’s probably more likely that her health had deteriorated in the days approaching the game. Dak had to know that his Mom was soon going to be leaving this world and entering the next, possibly before he would be able to get back home. And knowing the story of Dak and Peggy Prescott, I’m sure his mother insisted that he was to be in Columbia.
In what was a stellar sophomore season for Dak Prescott, the South Carolina game was a serious blip on the radar. Prescott completed 28 of 43 passes, for 225 yards. Not bad numbers, but he also threw 3 interceptions and fumbled the ball away once for a total of four turnovers. It was easily his worst game of the year. Dak took every snap. I expected to see Russell come in at any time, but Mullen never pulled the trigger. While he has never said anything about that game, I often think Mullen was telling Dak that he was going to allow him to play through the pain.
Many Mississippi State fans ended the day in a bit of a grouchy mood. We woke up the next day to discover what Dak had been informed of by his coaches and dad, and we almost instantly forgot about what happened the day before. His mother Peggy had finally succumbed to cancer. I don’t know how much, if any at all, his mother’s impending death played a role in his performance against South Carolina. I do know that it isn’t easy to focus or concentrate when you have a dear loved one who is battling for their life. My mom spent 5 years battling Pulmonary Fibrosis. Her health deteriorated so much the last month of her life she had to spend it in the ICU. That last month was one of the most difficult times of my life, and it made doing the normal things of life almost impossible. So it’s not a stretch to assume that his worst game might have been a byproduct of what he was dealing with off the field.
A lot of things can change in 52 weeks. Dak has buried his mother, suffered a supposed year ending and possible career ending shoulder injury, led the Bulldogs to a dramatic win over Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl, had the hype build around a possible Dark Horse Heisman campaign in the off season, led the Bulldogs to their first victory in Baton Rouge since 1991, established himself as a possible front runner for the Heisman Trophy, and led the Bulldogs to a perfect record and number 1 ranking in the Coaches and AP Polls. That’s a lot to handle in one year for anyone.
52 weeks is a long time in some regards, and short in others. The first year after you lose a loved one is always the hardest. When Prescott takes the field on Saturday against Arkansas, his emotions will be running sky high. If there were ever a time that he had hoped for am 11:00 kickoff, today might have been the day. Instead he gets a night time game and the entire day to think about all that has happened in the year since that difficult day 52 weeks ago.
Most of us are just thinking about football today, but remember as you watch the game tomorrow that Dak is battling a lot of things in his head and in his heart today. When he scores a touchdown and points to the heavens as he always does, it will probably mean a lot more today than it normally does.