BEREA: Rookie quarterback Cody Kessler often texts the shuttle driver to ensure he can catch a ride to the team hotel after spending extra time studying at Browns headquarters.
He later reviews the playbook with wide receivers in his room, sometimes until 11:30 at night.
Then he boards the first shuttle from the hotel to the facility at 6:15 every morning.
“I need to get a car or something,” Kessler quipped Tuesday before the first practice of the team’s three-day mandatory minicamp.
On a serious note, Kessler has already figured out what 2014 first-round draft pick Johnny Manziel failed to realize during his two disastrous seasons in Cleveland: Playing quarterback in the NFL is basically a seven-day-a-week job.
“I don’t ever want to have an excuse as to why I didn’t grasp the offense or anything,” said Kessler, a third-round selection who played in a pro-style system at the University of Southern California. “If I have the opportunities, if there’s a film room open, if I can stay here as long as I can, I want to take advantage of that.”
Browns coach Hue Jackson is encouraged by the dedication. Before rookie minicamp last month, Kessler even used FaceTime to study the playbook with rookie wide receiver and first-round pick Corey Coleman.
“That’s what you want out of your quarterback,” Jackson said. “You want a guy that’s totally committed. ... I don’t know too many quarterbacks that it’s not a seven-day job. It’s an everyday grind.”
Kessler’s commitment will prompt him to spend his summer vacation training in Los Angeles under the guidance of throwing guru Tom House. He’ll join Browns projected starting quarterback Robert Griffin III at House’s 3DQB facility, where the former major-league pitcher who received his Ph.D. in sports/performance psychology analyzes pupils’ throwing motions and revamps them with proper mechanics.
Griffin has already worked with House this offseason. Josh McCown, Austin Davis and Connor Shaw might join soon because Jackson has referred all of his quarterbacks to House. At least one Browns receiver plans to tag along. Coleman said he’ll train wherever Griffin works out this summer, including at House’s facility.
“He’s one of the best at what he does — at teaching rhythm and timing and making sure a guy’s body’s in a proper throwing mechanics position — in the world,” Jackson said of House. “I have obviously a real tremendous relationship with Tom, but it’s another opportunity for the players to get better. ... That means a guy is willing to sacrifice some of his time to go work at his skill, and that says a lot to me.”
Kessler plans to learn from the former pitching coach between the end of minicamp, which wraps up Thursday, and training camp, which begins in late July.
“I want to come into [training] camp and act like I’ve been in this offense for 10 years,” Kessler said. “I want to completely understand everything. I want to know how to read defenses in the NFL. However many different looks there are, I want to know what to do.
“You’ve got to play at fast pace, and I’ve gotten a little bit of a taste of that, [but] I want to stay comfortable. I don’t want to go a month away and lose everything. I want to get farther ahead and keep jumping ahead, and that’s always just been me, my work ethic. This next month is going to be very crucial for me.”
Kessler hopes to challenge Griffin and McCown for the starting job in training camp, and he figures working with House for the first time could help his chances.
“Whatever the decision is, I’m still going to treat myself as a starter,” Kessler said. “Whether I am or not or no matter what happens, I’m still going to take the mindset as a starter. At any level, you have to take that mindset every day.”
Griffin has taken the vast majority of the first-team snaps this offseason.
He’s the clear favorite to win the starting job, though Jackson reiterated Tuesday he’s not ready to name a victor. The coach spoke as if he won’t do so until the preseason, saying making the decision now would be “way too soon.”
It’s also way too early to know whether Jackson will prove to be prophetic when he told the public to trust him after the Browns drafted Kessler, labeled by many draft analysts a late-round pick or priority free agent.
“I made a statement that I feel very good about,” Jackson said. “I think this young man’s future is still out in front of him, and he’s working hard. He can throw the ball. He makes good decisions.
“He’s learning the pro game. It’s a faster game, and I think he’s learning that. But he has all the talent and ability that I thought he had when we drafted him.”
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Browns blog at www.ohio.com/browns. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NateUlrichABJ and on Facebook www.facebook.com/abj.sports.