The 2013 NFL Draft is a ways off still, but if the Seahawks' cluster of a quarterback competition doesn't shake out into what we all hope it does in 2012 - namely the emergence of a viable (even elite) 'franchise quarterback' for the Seahawks, we shall soon find ourselves closely examining the top shelf prospects ready to leave school again next year. This started early last season as well -- much before Matt Hasselbeck signed with Tennesee and Tarvaris Jackson signed with Seattle -- and if or when Matt Flynn, Jackson, and Russell Wilson struggle, people will start looking towards the future, for right or wrong. It is and has been the main question for the franchise moving forward, so it would be silly to ignore it.

Even if the Seahawks' quarterback of the future is already on the roster, that likely wouldn't keep the team from considering several from the group of elite signal callers that should declare next year, in what's looking to be a strong group (yeah, yeah, they say that every year). Matt Flynn could turn out to be heaps and bounds better than most of us believe him to be -- that is, a solid, game-managing, efficient and accurate quarterback with serious physical limitations -- but that's no given. Tarvaris Jackson could surprise and show great improvement, pocket awareness and anticipation, and/or Russell Wilson could buck the odds and emerge as a legitimate starter despite his uncommon and disadvantageous height. All these things could happen, sure, but you can bet that this team's scouting department isn't banking on it.

With that in mind - we look forward. Way forward. NFLDraftScout.com's top eight quarterbacks heading into the 2012 season are (1) USC's Matt Barkley, (2) Arkansas' Tyler Wilson, (3) Virginia Tech's Logan Thomas, (4) Tennessee's Tyler Bray, (5) Oklahoma's Landry Jones, (6) Georgia's Aaron Murray, (7) LSU Zach Mettenberger, and (8) West Virginia's Geno Smith. The top-four of that group are currently first-round projections; the next three, first- to second-rounders; and Smith a solid second-round prospect. Over the next couple of days, I'll be posting the scouting videos for Wilson, Thomas, Bray, Jones, Murray and Smith. We've already seen all of the Matt Barkley vids at this point already so I'll spare you just this once; Mettenberger has played in two games so there's not much out there.

As always, tip of the cap to the fellas at DraftBreakdown.com -- they do the yeoman's work on scouting prospect cutups so make sure you follow the links on the videos below to follow them on twitter.

First up, Tyler Wilson.