Dak Prescott Will Enter 2015 NFL Draft If Projected to Be Selected in 1st Round

Mississippi State has been one of the best stories in college football this season, led by its breakout star at quarterback, Dak Prescott.   

But the Bulldogs better prepare themselves for life after Prescott, because the quarterback recently told Pete Thamel and Thayer Evans of SI.com that there's a possibility he will enter the 2015 NFL draft:

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'One of the worst things is not going, getting injured and hurting your situation,' he said. 'I wouldn’t risk it if I had a chance to go first round. I’m graduating college, and my time here will be done, I’ll do exactly what I wanted to do.'

He added: 'When the time came and there’s an option, first, second or third round and I had the season I wanted to have, I’d go.'

Prescott is on track to graduate in December with a degree in educational psychology, but Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen expects him back next season. 'I’d be shocked, but you never know,' he said.

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Prescott's pro prospects are an interesting point of debate. On one hand, he's currently one of the Heisman front-runners, with 1,478 passing yards, 14 passing touchdowns, four interceptions, 576 rushing yards and eight rushing scores. His ability as a dual-threat quarterback is always intriguing, especially as more teams in the NFL are adapting plays like the zone-read into their playbooks.     

On the other hand, he's only in his first year as the starter and his completion percentage of 61.5 percent isn't terribly impressive. Earlier in the month, one NFL general manager compared him to another opinion-dividing quarterback to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com:

Rapoport later reported a GM claimed he needed more time to develop:

It's hard to argue that Prescott wouldn't benefit from another year of seasoning at Mississippi State. On the other hand, it's hard to argue with Prescott turning pro if he feels he'll be selected in the first three rounds to eliminate the injury risk that accompanies returning to college. 

If Prescott continues to shine, perhaps wins the Heisman Trophy and leads Mississippi State to an SEC title or the College Football Playoff, it's hard to imagine him returning for his senior year. If he's left with major goals to accomplish after this season, however, he would likely be better off continuing to improve at Mississippi State.