When Dak Prescott suits up every Sunday for the Cowboys, there is an offensive line protecting him, receivers doing their best to get open and coaches trying to make him look as good as possible.
But away from the action, there is an unofficial member of the Cowboys playing his part in Prescott’s success as well.
Once a football player himself in his younger days, Hoppie – real name Manwell McLean – has carved out an important niche fueling the passer of America’s team.
And his meals have become part of the routine for Prescott, who is looking to bring the Cowboys to the playoffs for a third straight year. While Hoppie is not in the business of counting the quarterback’s calories, there is certainly a science to keeping him properly nourished.
Earlier in the week, as the Cowboys recover from their previous game, Hoppie says the quarterback will eat lighter, with a typical meal consisting of cabbage, salmon and a sweet potato or some rice.
But as practice ramps up closer to game day – Hoppie says Thursday is Prescott’s most intensive – the chef’s recipes change too.
With Prescott needing more calories on that day, Hoppie will prepare him more carbohydrate-heavy foods, and may cook with more butter as well.
While the quarterback does not count his calories, Hoppie estimates that most football players need 5,000-6,000 calories to merely maintain their weight.
He works closely with Cowboys director of sports performance Scott Sehnert, who he says he has a ‘great relationship’ with.
In fact, it’s relationships that have gotten Hoppie to this point of cooking for Prescott, as well as rookie Luke Schoonmaker (he also used to cook for CeeDee Lamb and Ezekiel Elliot).
Back when he was a kid, Hoppie played for Deion Sanders’ youth football team – a connection that he parlayed into baking him desserts as a 12-year-old.
He later became ‘Coach Prime”s full-time personal chef at the age of 19, and used that co-sign to work his way into NFL circles.
