There are quarterbacks in the SEC who could be compared to former No. 1 overall NFL draft pick Alex Smith.

Arkansas’ Tyler Wilson, Tennessee’s Tyler Bray and Georgia’s Aaron Murray are all known by NFL scouts and regulars in mock drafts. They may not all be picked that high, but it’s not that far-fetched to discuss it.

Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen brought another quarterback into that conversation recently: his own -- Tyler Russell. After employing a two-quarterback system in 2011 (Russell and Chris Relf), Mullen said the the job will solely belong to Russell in 2012. Mullen thinks Russell compares favorably to Smith.

“He’s probably a lot like Alex Smith, who is really a pure drop-back passer,” Mullen said at SEC media days. “He would run an option play, no one would tackle him, he’d run down the field for 70 yards, which Tyler can do. If you don’t get near him, he’s fast enough, he can run in a straight line.”

Mullen was Smith’s offensive coordinator at Utah, and helped guide him to a junior season that launched him as the No. 1 overall pick of the San Francisco 49ers in 2005. Mullen also coached Heisman-winning quarterback and first-round pick Tim Tebow at Florida. He’s seen quarterbacks who can win. He thinks Russell, heading into his junior year, can be that type of player.

“I expect him to have a huge year,” Mullen said. “He’s played in almost every stadium in the league, so the stage won’t be too big. He started games, so he knows how to handle being a starter. He knows the system and is comfortable in it.”

Comparing Russell to Smith was an interesting choice by Mullen. Yes, Russell is a decent athlete who moves around well in the pocket and can tuck it and run in situations. But he barely broke even in rushing yardage in 2011, rushing 33 times for 45 yards. Sacks took a large bite out of his total, but compared to Smith, who rushed for 631 yards as a junior at Utah, Russell has shown far less mobility.

He may not put up the rushing numbers that Smith did, but he’ll have a chance to put up some solid passing stats in 2012. Led by seniors Arceto Clark, Chad Bumphis and Chris Smith, Russell should have a strong group of receivers to look to.

He’ll need to improve his accuracy to do that. He finished second-to-last in the SEC in completion percentage (53.5 percent) among quarterbacks who had at least 1,000 yards passing. 

He will have the playing time, the receivers and the experience to have a year worthy of an Alex Smith comparison. Now he must prove his coach correct.

For more up-to-the-minute news and analysis from SEC bloggers Larry Hartstein and Daniel Lewis, follow @CBSSportsSEC.