With Kellen Moore injured, Dak Prescott wants to seize opportunity

Cowboys rookie quarterback Dak Prescott isn’t going to put more pressure on himself with Kellen Moore going down with an injury on Tuesday.

Prescott intends to keep the same mindset even though he moves into the backup quarterback position for now.

“Football is fun. I don’t really feel the pressure,” Prescott said following Tuesday’s practice. “I just want to come in and make myself better each and every day. I feel pressure more from myself. I want to be the best and I’m going to push myself until I get there.”

Prescott had been in competition with Moore to become Tony Romo’s backup from the start of training camp. But Moore had been viewed as the favorite given his knowledge of the offense and experience.

And Prescott is a rookie who is learning and adapting from running more of a spread offense at Mississippi State to the Cowboys’ pro style offense.

Asked if Moore’s injury changed his desire to be the backup, Prescott replied: “I mean, eventually I want to be the starter. That’s my mindset is to come in each and every day and get myself to the level as close as I can to Romo and learn from him. So that’s my mindset.”

Backup quarterback is a critical position for the Cowboys, as last year proved. When Romo fractured his collarbone twice and missed 12 games, the Cowboys went 1-11.

That’s part of the reason they went into the draft with quarterback high on their priority list. They tried to trade back into the first round for Paxton Lynch, but settled for Prescott in the fourth round.

Prescott has impressed early on in camp. Quarterbacks coach Wade Wilson praised Prescott on Monday for his development and work ethic, and Prescott certainly talks confidently about his abilities and making the transition to the pro game.

“A lot more confident and comfortable [in the offense now],” Prescott said. “I’ve got the playbook down. Now it’s just the fact to take stuff from the classroom and put it on the field is where I have to continue to get better at.”

Prescott and coach Jason Garrett spent extra time working together on Tuesday, although Prescott said it had nothing to do with the injury to Moore.

Regardless, Prescott said he’ll make the most of this opportunity.

“It’s an opportunity for me to get more reps and take more snaps, so I’m going to make sure I’m ready for it,” Prescott said.

This story was originally published August 2, 2016 at 10:21 PM with the headline "With Kellen Moore injured, Dak Prescott wants to seize opportunity."