FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, December 1st, 2016
FOOTBALL NIGHT IN MINNESOTA INCLUDES A FEATURE ON DALLAS COWBOYS QB DAK PRESCOTT
“I think that was more for the public than anything. Tony and I have been great since day one.” – Prescott on Tony Romo’s press conference addressing his spot on the team
Mike Tirico, Tony Dungy & Rodney Harrison on Location for Football Night in Minnesota Pregame Show Tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC
STAMFORD, Conn. – December 1, 2016 –Thursday Night Football on NBC continues tonight when the NFL-best 10-1 Dallas Cowboys visit the Minnesota Vikings (6-5). Pre-game coverage starts at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC with Football Night in Minnesota, and will include a feature on Cowboys rookie QB Dak Prescott, who discusses his experience since being named the team’s starting QB.
Mike Tirico will serve as the host of the Football Night in Minnesota pregame show from U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn. He will be joined on-site by Hall of Fame head coach Tony Dungy, who played quarterback for the University of Minnesota and served as defensive coordinator for the Vikings (1992-1995), and two-time Super Bowl champion Rodney Harrison.
INTERVIEW: Below are excerpts from Prescott’s feature. If used, please note the mandatory credit: “In an exclusive interview airing tonight on Football Night in Minnesota.”
DAK PRESCOTT
On growing up a Cowboys fan: “My dad was a diehard Cowboys fan. I was raised as a Cowboy fan, and I was forced to be a Cowboy fan. In the yard, I was always Emmitt Smith, imagining wearing that 22 on my chest.”
On being drafted in the fourth round: “I thought that I wasn’t going to go in the first round, but I felt I was going second [round]. Then, I watched those two rounds pass by, and it woke me up on Saturday a little anxious and a little pissed.”
On his father’s reaction to him being drafted by the Cowboys: “Dad was too excited, too pumped. He comes out and pulls out all of his jerseys of older Cowboys that he has. Now, it’s him wearing my jersey every Sunday.”
On his first season as starting QB: “I’m so much more comfortable from Game 1 to now. It’s just the experience of being able to see a bunch of defenses. Normally people are throwing at me, [but now] they’re going to be scheming up there watching film trying to catch my tendencies.”
“I’ve always has high expectations of myself. I’ve never felt that there was anything I couldn’t do in this world. I’ve always wanted to play quarterback and I lucked out to be able to play for my favorite team – America’s team. I’m just living the moment. I feel like all of this was supposed to happen. When you work hard, things work your way.”
On Tony Romo’s press conference regarding his future with Dallas Cowboys: “I watched his press conference, but I think that was more for the public than anything. Tony and I have been great since day one of showing up, since the day that he got hurt and he sent me a text saying how much he supported me and had my back, to the day that they named me the starter when he returned. He’s been nothing but great help, always giving me positive feedback, and wanting to see me do best.”
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Coverage of tonight’s game will also be simulcast on NFL Network and live streamed on NBCSports.com (desktops), the NBC Sports app (tablets and connected TVs), Twitter, NFL Mobile from Verizon, Watch NFL Network, and NFL Game Pass (International).
–FOOTBALL NIGHT IN MINNESOTA–
