When Dak Prescott once bashed Tony Romo over Cowboys' 28-18 loss to Washington in 2012 - "I'm DONE taking up for Romo"
The story of Dak Prescott and Tony Romo is already well-known among NFL fans: the Dallas Cowboys drafted the former in 2016 to back up the latter. Then Romo suffered a back injury during the preseason, so Prescott was elevated to starter and became so immensely prolific and successful that Romo eventually conceded the starting job to him. And Prescott could have not been any more grateful.
But back when he was still in college, Dak Prescott, who grew up idolizing the Cowboys, did not exactly have the best perception of the man whom he would eventually succeed in Arlington.
On Dec. 30, 2012, the Cowboys were visiting the Washington Redskins, and they had to win that game if they wanted to be in the playoffs. Alas, they lost 18-28 after linebacker Rob Jackson intercepted Tony Romo, the quarterback's league-high 19th of the season which also tied his career-high five years ago.
The then-freshman at Mississippi State (he redshirted upon entering the NCAA) was very unimpressed with Romo's game-sealing blunder, and he said in a now-deleted Tweet:
"I'm DONE Taking up for Romo. #hadenough"
When Jacey Bailey, his then-schoolmate, attempted to defend Romo, he retorted:
"None of those INTs were Bc of the O-line. #noexcuses"
"You're suppose to Throw it over the guys head. That was the most embarrassing one of them all. #stoptakingupforhim"
Fast forward to May 6, 2016. Ahead of his first-ever practice as a pro, Prescott was asked about the tweet. He told the Dallas Morning News:
"I'm going to let him bring it up. I think it's funny. I'm sure he'll think it's funny. I was a frustrated fan at the time. I'm sure you can go back and look at fans of Mississippi State and they may have said something similar at one point or another, so I was just being a fan and now he's my teammate and I'm behind him 100 percent."
What did Tony Romo say about conceding starting position to Dak Prescott? And how did Prescott react?
Little did Dak Prescott know at the time, but the last five words of his response would be the most ironic. After Tony Romo's injury, the then-rookie lost his first start, then did not lose again until Week 14. In the midst of that winning streak, Romo told reporters on November 15:
"He's earned the right to be our quarterback. As hard as that is for me to say, he's earned that right."
Upon hearing those words, Prescott said (via NBC's Pro Football Talk):
“He’s been a great leader, a great model for me to look up to and watch every day. It was an emotional statement for him to say that, but I'm not surprised."