Ryan Mallett has played only two games at Arkansas, but already he’s being talked about as a better NFL prospect than a Heisman Trophy winner and a likely first-round pick.

  Here is what ESPN’s SEC blogger Chris Low wrote about Mallett, who has passed for 717 yards with six touchdowns and no interceptions in his two starts this season.

  Former Vanderbilt safety Corey Chavous, who played in the Pro Bowl during his 11-year NFL career, has identified his early leader as the best pro prospect in the SEC at the quarterback position. 

  And it’s not Tim Tebow or Jevan Snead.

  Chavous, who recently launched his DraftNasty.com Web site for year-round coverage of the NFL draft, thinks Arkansas’ Ryan Mallett has the most NFL potential.

  “My friend, ESPN’s Shaun King said it on TV, and now I’m starting to believe it,” Chavous said. “Mallett, at 6-foot-7 and 248 pounds, is the top NFL prospect in the SEC at quarterback. He made every throw you want to see a premier quarterback make Saturday night. The Arkansas staff has really concentrated on helping him with his footwork.” 

  Mallett will have the option after this season to leave early to enter the NFL Draft. He played as a freshman at Michigan in 2007, then sat out last season because of his transfer to Arkansas. And though he’s listed as a sophomore, this is his third season in college, making him eligible to enter the draft after this year.

  Will Mallett decide to give up his final two years of eligibility to take a shot at the NFL? Well, I spoke with his family and friends for an article on him before the start of the season, and one of his former coaches said Mallett hopes to someday be the first overall pick in the draft.

  But considering that this upcoming draft should be quarterback heavy — with Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford, Texas’ Colt McCoy, Snead and Tebow all in the running — Mallett might think twice about leaving early. Now the 2011 NFL Draft could look like a better fit for him.