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Dak Prescott was born Rayne Dakota Prescott on July 29, 1993, in Sulphur, Louisiana, to Nathaniel Prescott and Peggy Prescott. The Dallas Cowboys quarterback’s parents divorced when he was young and he grew up mostly with his mother and two older brothers, Thaddeus “Tad” and Jace Prescott, although he remained close with his father.
Here’s what you need to know about Dak Prescott’s family:
1. Dak Prescott Grew Up in a Three-Bedroom Trailer With His Mother & His Older Brothers
Prescott’s parents, Peggy and Nathaniel “Nat” Prescott, began dating when they were seniors in 1979. Peggy Prescott was the daughter of a high school principal, Bleacher Report wrote. Nat Prescott, a native of Vinton, Louisiana, was a defensive end and linebacker at Grambling State University, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
The Dallas Cowboys quarterback was raised in rural Louisiana in a trailer park along with his two older brothers in a close-knit family. He lived mainly with his mother and brothers after his parents divorced, though his father was still present in his life.
Prescott learned to play football in the field behind the trailer park thanks to his older brothers, and his mother was also a huge football fan. “We were best friends and still are,” Prescott said of his relationship with his mother on his foundation’s website. “She was everything, my coach, my mom, my teacher and anything you could think of, it was deeper than just mom and son.”
Their trailer was a three-bedroom in Haughton, a town of around 4,500 just outside Shreveport. Peggy Prescott worked as a manager at a truck stop and diner called Huddle House and although the family sometimes struggled to make ends meet, the mother of three often took in some of her son’s friends who needed a place to stay.
“She never turned her back on anyone,” her brother Phillip Ebarb told Bleacher Report, “and that’s probably because she knew what it felt like, because so many people turned their backs on her.”
2. Dak Prescott’s Parents Were Divorced & He Lived With His Mother But He Was Close With Both of Them
Prescott was close with both of his parents growing up but has often talked about his close relationship with his mother. The Cowboys star’s oldest brother Tad revealed that Prescott slept in the same bedroom as his mother until he left for college. The trailer they lived in had three bedrooms and Prescott’s older brothers Tad and Jace each got one while the youngest slept in his mother’s room.
“He’ll kill me when I tell you this, but … they were that close,” Tad Prescott shared with ESPN. “Even when he was in college, they spoke every day.” Peggy Prescott died in 2013 and her youngest son shared with the publication afterward, “I’m going to live the rest of my life dedicating it to my mom. She’s the reason I am the way I am in every aspect of my life. Everything I do is for her.”
Prescott was also close with his father growing up, although their relationship hasn’t been in the limelight as much as that with his mother. Nat Prescott often worked as a driver, spending some time as a commercial driver in the Louisiana oil fields and also as a bus driver in Austin, Texas, the Dallas Morning News reported.
After Prescott’s parents divorced, they remained close and Nat Prescott said they had a standing date every Wednesday night. “Peggy and I divorced but that didn’t separate my relationship with my kids,” he told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “Also, Peggy and I still had a standing date every Wednesday after our divorce. We were the best of friends. We just wasn’t the couple anymore.”
Nat Prescott now lives in Frisco and often helps out his son when needed, including looking after the quarterback’s dogs when needed. “He wanted to be in Dallas. I wanted him to be in Dallas,” Prescott told the publication. “It’s more convenient. He’s there for me. If I need something, he helps me out and gets it done. He is watching my two dogs right now, so it’s a whole lot more convenient.”
In the same interview, Prescott shared that he and his dad have always had a “tight relationship” and that his father “has always been there for me.”
3. Dak Prescott’s Mother Died in 2013 After a Battle With Colon Cancer & He Has Often Paid Tribute to Her Strength
Prescott’s mother died on November 3, 2013, after battling colon cancer. She was 52 years old, her obituary states. Prescott’s mother told him in the summer of 2012 that she was fighting stage four colon cancer, just before he started at Mississippi State University, according to his foundation’s website.
Throughout the next year and a half, Peggy Prescott continued to attend her youngest son’s football games, even when she couldn’t walk and had to use a wheelchair. Prescott and his brothers all shaved their heads to support their mother after she lost her hair from chemotherapy treatments.
“I learned so many lessons from watching my mom fight colon cancer,” Prescott said, according to his website. “And I think just toughness, mental toughness was one of the main things I’ve taken and I try to use every day and to never show weakness. And just her courage and fight through that whole battle just showed me how mentally tough one person can be.”
After his mother died during his sophomore year at Mississippi State, Prescott continued to practice and play with the team, as it was what his mother would have wanted. He was named the MVP of the Liberty Bowl at the end of the 2013 season and made the SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll.
Prescott still honors his mother every game, pointing to the sky after touchdowns for her. He chose his jersey number for his mother as well, number 4 to represent her birthday on September 4.
“I remember her telling me let me be your story,” Prescott shared on his foundation’s website. “Losing my mom and watching her fight motivated me. As much as I can raise awareness and educate people on how to get ahead of cancer, showing how to make your adversity your inspiration is probably the most significant goal.”
4. Dak Prescott Grew Up With 2 Older Brothers, Tad & Jace, Who Both Played Football
Prescott was the youngest of three boys, Tad and Jace. Jace Prescott, the middle child, was born on May 10, 1988, and attended Northwestern State University, where he majored in psychology with a minor in general studies. He played collegiate football for NSU as an offensive linesman, but his football career ended early due to a major wrist injury and other injuries, Sports Illustrated reported.
Jace Prescott’s former English teacher at Haughton, Jamie Gressett, described him to the Shreveport Times as “a sweet, quiet guy who was like a big teddy bear. The first day of class, he said: ‘My name is Jace Prescott, and my favorite color is pink.’ I liked having Jace in class and thought the world of him.”
Tad Prescott also played football growing up and he shared in an interview with Graham Bensinger that the three boys were very competitive. He hosts the podcast “U Don’t Know Me Yet,” although there have been no new episodes since May 2022.
Tad Prescott is married to Holly Prescott, having tied the knot in March 2023. They welcomed their son, Jace McKenzie Prescott II, in February 2021, and the boy’s nickname is Mak. Tad Prescott is also the father of a daughter named Kennedy, who’s very close with her uncle Dak Prescott, according to Saturday Down South. “I’m proud of what he’s done,” she shared, “but not just because of what he’s done in the NFL. To me, he’s my uncle.”
5. Dak Prescott’s Brother Jace Died of Suicide in April 2020 & the Quarterback Has Opened Up About It
Prescott’s brother Jace died at his home in Orange, Texas on April 23, 2020, and the quarterback later revealed that his older brother had committed suicide.
Prescott opened up about his brother’s suicide in an interview with Bensinger for “In Depth With Graham Bensinger” and shared that his brother had been their mother’s primary caregiver and it had had a deep impact on him.
“He saw the times where she would have to spend probably 10-plus hours throwing up this and that and saw the medicine she had to take,” Prescott shared. “And, um, almost you can’t even put into words the burden. I mean, it’s something only Jace knew. And he didn’t necessarily share that.”
Prescott said his brother had been his “best friend” and added, “I’ll never get another hug in my life like the ones he gave.” He revealed that he wrote a letter to his brother shortly after finding out he’d died, which said in part, “A Life Taken to Save Millions, You’ll never be forgotten for one second,” Sports Illustrated shared.
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