Dakota Prukop has been planning this since his sophomore year of high school.
The high academic achiever began taking advanced placement classes back during his days at Vandegrift High School in Austin, Texas. Later this week, Prukop will earn his economics degree from Montana State. This weekend, the star quarterback will take an official recruiting visit to Oregon.
Prukop recently completed his redshirt junior season for the Bobcats. He piled up 39 total touchdowns — 28 passing, 11 rushing — but the Bobcats finished 5-6 and missed the FCS playoffs. Because of NCAA rules, because Prukop has completed his undergraduate degree, he can transfer to any school that offers a compatible graduate school program and be eligible to compete right away.
“I wanted to get out to the public and all the fans of Bobcat Nation because there are some rumors going around that I am going to explore other options next season,” Prukop said. “The rumors are true. I will explore some options. I will take a visit this weekend and go from there.
“I’ve accelerated myself (academically) prior to coming here. I put myself in a position at an early age to be able to get done with school as quickly as I can. I wanted to have a bunch of credits when I came into college. I remember watching the Garrett Gilbert situation at Texas and you never know what is going to happen in college football. I wanted to get done with school as fast as possible. It took a bunch of work to get where I am. I’m glad I had a lot of options.”
Following the first losing season at Montana State since 2001, head coach Rob Ash and seven of his 10 assistant coaches were not retained. On Monday, Montana State announced Jeff Choate as the 32nd head coach in school history. Montana State administrators signed Prukop’s contact release form. Prukop has also received interest from TCU and Texas according to a report from Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports.
“Dakota has been a great Bobcat, a tremendous teammate and a leader in this program,” Choate said in a statement released by MSU following Prukop’s meeting with the media. “In the short time I’ve known him and his family there is no doubt he will achieve success in whatever pursuit he chooses. I respect his desire to look at all of his options and I certainly hope he chooses to remain in our program, but we will support his decision regardless.”
Choate retained three Ash assistants but one was not offensive coordinator Tim Cramsey. Cramsey’s name has surfaced as a potential candidate to replace Scott Frost as Oregon’s offensive coordinator. Matt Lubick, Oregon’s current wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator, is another strong option to replace Frost. Cramsey could fit into Lubick’s old spot coaching wide receivers.
“This decision is all my own,” Prukop said. “I’ve talked to Coach Cramsey every day. What I’ve hearing from the guys I trust most in my life, the guys who care about me as a person is to do what is best for me. I know he could go somewhere and I can go to that place.”
Cramsey’s offense has its roots in the philosophies of Chip Kelly, the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles who posted a 44-5 record in four seasons as the head coach at Oregon ending in 2012. He was Oregon’s offensive coordinator in 2007 and 2008. Kelly was a coach at New Hampshire during Cramsey’s playing days in the mid 1990s before Kelly moved to UNH’s OC position in 1999. Cramsey served on Kelly’s staff the last four years of Kelly’s time at his alma mater.
If Prukop went to Oregon, he would be the second straight Big Sky Conference standout to transfer to Eugene. Former Eastern Washington quarterback Vernon Adams, the 2013 and 2014 Big Sky Offensive MVP, is a senior quarterback for the Ducks. In his first season operating Oregon’s up-tempo spread offense, Adams led the country with a passer efficiency of 179.6 by completing 65 percent of his passes for 2,446 yards and 25 touchdowns despite missing three games with a hand injury.
“The rules are the rules, the rules are in place,” said Prukop, who added he has spoken with Adams throughout the process. “I know it’s controversial. I know people are going to have their opinions about it. The way I view it is it’s there so take advantage of it. If it wasn’t there, we wouldn’t be in this situation. I for one don’t disagree with it. It allows us opportunities. There’s multiple situations where this can benefit someone. But at the same time, you are rolling the dice. Nothing is guaranteed in life, nothing is guaranteed on the field.”
In 2014, Montana State broke a school record by scoring 496 points. In 2015, the Bobcats led the Big Sky Conference in scoring (41.9 points per game) and total offense (520 yards per game) but finished just 3-5 in league play. Prukop completed 63 percent of his passes for 3,025 yards and 28 touchdowns. He also rushed for 797 yards and 11 touchdowns. He is one of five Bobcat quarterbacks to throw for 3,000 yards in a season. His touchdown total are the second-most in a single season by a Bobcat. His 38 total touchdowns broke a school record.
Although Prukop acknowledged there is a chance he could return to Montana State, he will likely finish his career with 5,584 passing yards and 46 passing touchdowns. His 3,822 yards of total offense in 2015 were the second-most in school history. He will likely finish his career with 7,347 yards, 69 total touchdowns and a 12-10 record as the starter.
Prukop acknowledged Oregon is his first choice and said he has talked to “four or five” other schools but declined to say whom. He said he would make his final decision by January. The chance to test his skills at the Power 5 FBS level is intriguing to Prukop.
“I have to keep a level head because the type of player I am, I’ve always had a chip on my shoulder,” Prukop said. “I felt I was under recruited out of high school. No one thought I could play quarterback here. I played quarterback here. I’ve always had that chip and this just adds to it. It’s an enticing opportunity to show people I can play on a bigger stage.”
Prukop’s ultimate goal is to play in the NFL, he said on Tuesday as he stood outside the Bill Ogle Hall of Fame room at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse. Prukop is prepared to compete for the starting spot wherever he ends up. He said his teammates know of his plans to explore his options.
“The right decision isn’t always the decision isn’t always the decision that will make everyone happy,” Prukop said. “I’ve gotten the criticism being here playing, people telling me that I’m selfish because I run the ball as a quarterback. I find that funny. The right decision won’t make everyone happy but I have to do what’s best for me and my family.”
Prukop lost his only playoff game and lost his only start against rival Montana. He compiled a 12-10 record during his two seasons as a starter, including 10-10 against Division I teams and 9-7 against Big Sky Conference foes.
“I’m a real believer in never being satisfied and I’m nowhere near close to satisfied. I’m hungry and thirsty for championships and for wins,” Prukop said. “When you put in a lot of work, you want to reap the rewards. It doesn’t always work out like that. It’s a team game. A lot of things are outside of your control.”
