Former Ohio State Coach John Cooper Thinks Dak Prescott is ‘OK’

Nov 5, 2015; Columbia, MO, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs quarterback Dak Prescott (15) in the game against the Missouri Tigers during the first half at Faurot Field. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

There isn’t a ton of argument about the lack of great quarterback play in the SEC this season. Sure, Mississippi State fans are thrilled with the way Dak Prescott has played, but the other thirteen teams in the SEC have players who have either shown flaws or are downright just bad.

Dak Prescott has escaped much of this criticism. As a matter of fact, he is often seen as the lone bright spot among the quarterbacks in the league. Much of the success Mississippi State has had in posting a 7-2 record in 2015 is directly attributable to Prescott’s exploits on the field.

But apparently not everyone is impressed. Gridiron Now writer Jimmy Hyams wrote about the inconsistent play of SEC quarterbacks and spoke with former Ohio State head Coach John Cooper about the struggles of the league’s signal callers. Here is what the article said.

"“One thing hurting the SEC now, I don’t see a great quarterback,” Cooper told me recently.When Prescott’s name was mentioned, Cooper said, “He’s OK. Ohio State’s got three better than him, I can tell you.”"

So Ohio State has three quarterbacks currently better than Dak Prescott. if this had been said at the end of last season, many would probably agree. Ohio State won the national championship thanks in large part to the play J.T. Barrett after the injury to starter Braxton Miller. When Barrett went down with an injury, Cardale Jones stepped in and the team didn’t miss a beat. The Buckeyes pulled off the upset of Alabama in the National Semifinal and one upped that performance with another upset of Oregon.

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But 2015 has been a different story for the Ohio State quarterbacks. Braxton Miller has moved to wide receiver, Cardale Jones lost his starting job for being mostly ineffective and J.T. Barrett has been solid but not spectacular. Here are the numbers for the three quarterbacks combined thanks to Will Hager of the Sun Times.

Those aren’t bad numbers for the quarterbacks at Ohio State. But when you compare them to what Dak Prescott has done, how is this even an argument? Prescott has completed 3% more of his passes on 84 additional pass attempts, a little over 600 more yards than all three quarterbacks combined, 4 more touchdown passes, and 6 less interceptions.

This doesn’t even take into account Ohio State has 4 and 5 star players all over the field. According to 247sports.com, Ohio State is ranked third in the country in team talent with five 5 star players and fifty-four 4 star players. Mississippi State is 24th in those rankings with one 5 star and sixteen 4 star players. The Ohio State quarterbacks have more help to lean on all over the field, and yet Dak Prescott is still outperforming them.

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Ohio State might still win the national championship, and J.T. Barrett might be the answer the Buckeyes need at quarterback. but to say those three guys are all better than Dak Prescott simply doesn’t add up. And if Dak Prescott is just “OK”, I wish I could be that kind of OK. But hey, maybe John Cooper is just mad at Mississippi State. After all, the Bulldogs have beat Michigan the same number of times Cooper did at Ohio State since 1995.