DALLAS — Michael Gallup played high school and college football at a high level.
The Atlanta, Georgia native earned 16 varsity letters in football, baseball, basketball and track & field while at Monroe Area High School. At Colorado State, via Butler Community College, Gallup picked up two All-Mountain West team honors and was a finalist for the Fred Biletnikoff Award in 2017. Dallas selected Gallup in Round 3 of the 2018 NFL draft.
Gallup was going out and getting his.
"No one is going to tell you to do it, so, you might as well do it," said Gallup. "It's definitely weird. It's different. Nobody is out there hyping you up or anything or telling you what you need to work on."
When Gallup was a rookie in his first organized team activities session that May, he was taken aback when starting quarterback Dak Prescott openly proscribed him.
"I just got chewed out," Gallup said. "That's never happened to me before. I never had anybody chew me out, unless it was like a coach. But he came over there and grabbed me and he said, 'That's wrong. Do it right, or you won't be out here.' So, that's when it was real for me."
It was the first time in Gallup's football career that he had ever encountered a true leader on the field.
"I mean, I ain't going to lie, I didn't have a whole lot of leaders where I've been," said Gallup. "I ain't going to lie to you. He's definitely number one for me. Even in the locker room, everyone respects him. Everyone listens when he's talking. Even when he's joking around, everyone listens just because he's got that stature."
Gallup says that when he first arrived in Dallas, he was scared to ask Prescott a question, because he didn't want to "look bad in front of him."
However, after playing 46 games with the Cowboys, starting in 35 of them, and recording 158 catches for 2,457 yards and 13 touchdowns, Gallup isn't bashful to talk to his two-time Pro Bowl quarterback.
Said Gallup: "He's definitely grown, but for me, that first game, it was just like I thought he was already there. I'd never known anything else. But I've definitely seen him grow in every aspect of his game. We appreciate 4. He does what he's supposed to do."
The Cowboys have Prescott on a pitch count as they work him back from some shoulder soreness that has lingered throughout training camp. The Cowboys are more concerned about having their franchise quarterback hold up throughout an entire 17-game season than take redundant reps in training camp.
Nevertheless, Prescott is continuing to display aspects of leadership that set him apart, and not just in Gallup's experience.
"He's definitely the first one in the huddle," Gallup said. "He knows he's not going to go. He's still the first one to tell us to go out and dominate this series. Go out and do what you're supposed to do. He's still hyping up the team. He still breaks us down. He still wants us to be on our P's and Q's so when he does get back in there, we're right there with him. So, he doesn't miss a beat."
The Cowboys open up Sept. 9 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium.
Do you see Prescott leading Gallup and the Cowboys to the playoffs in 2021? Share your predictions with Mark on Twitter @therealmarklane.