Who says Brett Favre can't serve as a mentor to a young quarterback?

The former Vikings quarterback has spent recent weeks working with former teammate Joe Webb in Hattiesburg, Miss. The focus, according to a story on the Alabama-Birmingham website, has been Webb's passing game.

It's great to have a person like that as my contact," said Webb, who attended UAB. "He can still sling it."

Webb spent a portion of his offseason working out with Christian Ponder at the IMG Madden Football Academy in Bradenton, Fla. Ponder was taken with the 12th overall pick in the April draft and the expectation is that he will be the Vikings' starting quarterback in waiting.

Webb, meanwhile, wants a shot at winning the job as well, once the NFL lockout ends and training camps open. The Vikings also have Rhett Bomar under contract and there appears a good possibility they will pursue a veteran quarterback on the free-agent market or via trade when the lockout is over.

Webb, a sixth-round choice by the Vikings in 2010, was selected with the expectation that he would be moved from quarterback to wide receiver in the NFL. However, former Vikings coach Brad Childress decided to leave him at quarterback and Webb started two games late last season after Favre and Tarvaris Jackson were injured.