FOXBORO -- After spending the bulk of his college career in the spotlight, Ryan Mallett understands that he’s got to spend a little time in the shadows, especially when he's an understudy to someone like Tom Brady.

While several other quarterbacks from the Class of 2011 have already made a dent in the league -- including Carolina’s Cam Newton, Tennessee’s Jake Locker, Cincinnati’s Andy Dalton, Jacksonville’s Blaine Gabbert and Minnesota’s Christian Ponder -- Mallett has spent his first season with the Patriots biding his time, sitting behind Brady and Brian Hoyer while serving as New England’s No. 3 quarterback.

The 6-foot-6, 238-pounder, a third-round pick of the Patriots this past April out of Arkansas, is fully aware what the deal is, and has decided to make the best of it.

“I’ve done this before, so it’s really nothing -- I had to sit out that year at Arkansas, which obviously wasn’t fun,” he said, referencing his collegiate transfer from Michigan to Arkansas. “Right now, I have to put my focus somewhere else.

“It’s tough. I feel like as a competitor, you always want to play, but you have to understand the situation that you’re in. And that’s what I’m doing. So this year, I’m competing with myself a lot. I really compete inside my head a lot and try and make myself better at certain things.”

As a collegian, Mallett could boast a resume every bit as impressive as any of the rookie signal callers who are in the league now -- 8.388 passing yards and 69 touchdown passes in two-plus seasons (one at Michigan, two at Arkansas), including 3,869 yards and 32 touchdowns last season with the Razorbacks. But he slipped to the third round this past April, falling to No. 74 before the Patriots called his name.

Mallett did see extensive action in the preseason. He debuted on Aug. 11 against the Jaguars, and in a 47-12 win over Jacksonville, he finished 12-for-19 for 164 yards and a touchdown. (He engineered four scoring drives on the night.) There were some struggles throughout the preseason (including an interception in his next outing), and he finished up with a 6-for-16 outing (57 yards) against the Giants.

This year, with the Patriots carrying three healthy quarterbacks on the roster for the first time since 2007, Mallett has been inactive for 12 of the 13 games. Instead, he’s made his bones this season during the week helping run the scout team offense, which provides a weekly look for the defense at what to expect in the upcoming game. It’s a thankless task, but one that can lead to bigger and better things down the road: Brady spent much of the 2000 season running the scout team offense, and things have turned out OK for him.

“I get opportunities to run the scout team a little bit, and whenever I do, to me, I take that like it’s a game,” he said. “That’s my game. It really is. That’s all I have right now.

Brady has been impressed with Mallett’s approach.

“Ryan has been great to be here with. I really enjoy him -- he loves football,” Brady said on Wednesday. “I know he does everything that coaches ask him to do. He works hard. It’s great having him.”

In many ways, the extra time has been a blessing for Mallett. Throughout training camp, Mallett was consistently one of the last players off the field, and when practice had ended, he could frequently be seen going through a footwork drill, working with coaches and players. He said the extra time has allowed him to improve on his mechanics, as well as get into the weight room and add some bulk.

“I’ve really been working hard in the weight room -- I’ve seen the improvements,” he said. “I really just put a lot of time into that than I have in the past because I have a little bit more time. I’m really attacking that and I’m starting to like that a lot more.”

“I think he’s made a lot of improvements, as Brady did,” Belichick said of Mallett. “Brady’s rookie year, he was like 205 or 207 [pounds] or whatever it was. He gained a lot of strength in both his upper and his lower body. That’s helped him, both in throwing and taking hits, durability and all that. Ryan has definitely gotten on that program. He spends a lot of time in the weight room and doing what we ask him to do.”

When it comes to working as a backup, in the end, it’s all about how you approach the gig. And Mallett says this year has been all about keeping your eyes and ears open and your mouth closed.

“It depends on how you approach it -- I approach it like I’m trying to learn everything I can,” Mallett said. “I watch Tom and see what he does, and then I try and do it my own way. I think it’s worked out pretty well. But I’m just doing what the team needs me to do right now, and I love it.”