Dak Prescott is a college play-maker, but is he an NFL-caliber quarterback?

The Mississippi State senior continues to climb SEC career leaderboards, seemingly with each pass and touchdown. Thursday night he moved into sixth all-time with 100 total touchdowns.

He’s never been more accurate. He’s completing two-thirds of his passes, tops in the league.

His 18-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio reads like numbers you’d build in Madden.

He’s also rushed for 418 yards and seven touchdowns, totals surpassing most SEC running backs.

So why is Prescott receiving the Tim Tebow treatment? You know, outstanding college player whose game doesn’t translate to the professional level.

In Prescott’s case, there is precedent. Plenty of it, most recent, much of it from quarterbacks who did the same kinds of things in the same league.

No need to bore you with the details, but dual-threat Heisman winners Tebow and Johnny Manziel dominated the SEC. Tebow couldn’t stick in the NFL, and the jury very much is out on how long Manziel will last.

The number of dual-threat quarterbacks who enter the NFL far exceed the number of dual-threat quarterbacks who succeed in the NFL.

That’s the lens through which Prescott is being judged.

That’s precisely the precedent Prescott must overcome.

Stephen Garcia, a former South Carolina quarterback and current SaturdayDownSouth.com contributor, has analyzed Prescott’s performance with an eye toward projecting his NFL prospects.

“He’s drawn comparison to better passing Tim Tebow by from some ‘experts,'” Garcia said. “I have watched him over the last 2 years and I believe that he has improved his passing ability significantly.

“He obviously has the athletic ability to play at the next level, but his pocket passing has been in question, even to this day.”

Garcia often confers with NFL scouts. The sense they have given him is that Prescott has proven he has NFL-level arm strength and the mobility the league requires. At 6-2, 230, he has the size to hold up, as well.

The rub is the same issue that dogged Tebow, Manziel, Robert Griffin III, Colin Kaepernick and other dual-threat graduates from a spread-based, shotgun offense that relies on pre-snap reads and quick hitters:

Can he reproduce that success, under center, from the pocket, going through progressions, while basically learning on the job?

“Prescott comes from the exact same system as Tebow,” Garcia said. “They’re the two most relatable. Dan Mullen doesn’t really run a pro-style offense, and he requires a mobile, tough running back, not a drop-back passer.”

Garcia said one advantage Prescott has over Tebow is that his throwing motion is much cleaner.

“Both guys have questions about their throwing ability,” Garcia said, “but Prescott seems to have a better motion, although it is still not very good.”

One scout told Garcia that Prescott “needs to greatly improve his fundamentals and he would definitely need to sit for a couple of years in the NFL.

“Coach Mullen’s offensive scheme doesn’t necessarily translate into the NFL, so Dak would need help getting prepared for that as well.”

The good news for Prescott is, like the others, he’ll get the opportunity to prove experts wrong.