Dak Prescott spoke out Wednesday on the tragic passing of his older brother, Jace … and the Dallas Cowboys QB said emotionally, “it’s tough, obviously.”

“He meant a lot to my family, meant a lot to me,” the 27-year-old told reporters in his first news conference since Jace’s passing. “He’s part of the reason I am a quarterback.”

“When I was a little kid, he’s the reason that I first started throwing the football.”

Jace — one of Dak’s two older brothers — died suddenly at the age of 31 this past April. The family has not publicly revealed the cause of death.

Dak was clearly torn up over the loss. In fact, it took the QB nearly four months to open up about it all publicly … telling reporters Wednesday he’s now making it his life’s mission to carry on his brother’s legacy.

“It’s been a tough year,” Dak said. “It’s been a tough year for me personally. It’s been a tough year for my family. It’s been a tough year for this country and this world, obviously. So, it’s all been tough.”

Dak says he leaned on his Cowboys teammates and his other family members to get him through it all … adding, “I have a great family to count on, to lean on. Great supporters here, great teammates. Great coaches.”

As we previously reported … Dak and Jace were extremely close — the two famously filmed a Campbell’s Chunky Soup commercial together in 2019, where the QB praised Jace and his other brother for being a great support system.