Dak Prescott's pursuit of doctorate will help him at QB

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott made news earlier this week on the Talk of Fame radio network when said he wanted to go back to school to get his doctorate in psychology.

Prescott, a graduate of Haughton, La., High School, got his undergraduate degree in educational psychology and his master’s degree in organizational leadership at Mississippi State before being drafted in the fourth-round by the Cowboys last year.

That was before he went from a long-term project of the future to the franchise quarterback of the present, thanks to the best rookie season of any quarterback in NFL history.

That Prescott is thinking about improving himself off the field as well as continuing to build on his success on the field is no surprise to Cowboys offensive coordinator Scott Linehan.

Linehan says Prescott is a high achiever and calls it a characteristic that bodes well for a quarterback.

"He wants to achieve," Linehan said. "He is an achiever. I don't think making the NFL is it for him. He has his goals in mind for our football team and his career. He also wants to show there is more to him than being a football player. I think that says volumes about him.

"What is the real goal here? You want to achieve success or greatness, You can't do it by staying the same. You always have to make yourself better some how, some way. I think he looks to do that both on and off the field."

Prescott doesn't know when he will start working on his Ph.D. But that is his plan. He said it can only help him in his job as a quarterback and leader of the team.

"It's about being able to understand people," Prescott said. "Knowing what it takes for people to be motivated and learning each and every personality that I can ... it definitely can help me out being a leader. That’s what I got my undergrad in and I learned a bunch ... how to motivate different people, how different people respond to criticism or whatever it may be. It can only help a leader in knowing how people think.”

This story was originally published June 7, 2017 at 4:20 PM with the headline "Dak Prescott's pursuit of doctorate will help him at QB."