Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott offer advice to junior high students

The Dallas Cowboys’ rookies got rock star treatment during a visit to Workman Junior High on Monday afternoon.

Every player received a rousing ovation from several hundred students on hand as the Cowboys introduced a new online course called “Character Playbook” as part of their partnership with the United Way of Tarrant County.

The players then spoke to the students, answering questions from sideline reporter Kristi Scales and students themselves.

Among the interesting responses were running back Ezekiel Elliott saying he was “shy” and that he wasn’t “really confident” at that age.

Yes, Elliott, the league’s leading rusher who has become known for his ‘feed me’ gestures early on in his Cowboys career, didn’t gain confidence until high school, he said.

Quarterback Dak Prescott echoed a similar story, saying he wasn’t overly confident as a youngster.

“I wasn’t that confident in myself. May have been a little big, may have been a little chubbier than I wanted to be,” Prescott said, smirking. “Zeke says I’m still chubby, but I get it done. … Like Zeke said, you have to get out there and be more outgoing, be more social early to give yourself that confidence before you even get to high school.

“It happened later for me, for Zeke. Get that confidence now in middle school, so you can go into high school and you can start having that success and feel good about yourself. That’s kind of just your character. What defines you makes you feel good about yourself, and life will be a lot easier.”

This story was originally published October 31, 2016 at 6:02 PM with the headline "Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott offer advice to junior high students."