DeShone Kizer isn't getting ahead of himself. He'll leave that to everyone else outside of the Browns facility in Berea.
The new Browns quarterback, speaking hours before the start of rookie minicamp, didn't want to talk about the prospect of him starting at some point during the 2017 season. Instead, Kizer focused on the task ahead of him over next three days and beyond as he immerses himself in the new chapter of his life as an NFL quarterback.
It starts with the playbook.
"I think I am still learning what it takes to be an NFL quarterback. I cannot really put my hand around everything. But I know that I have learned so far that it takes a lot of responsibility," Kizer said. "You have to understand who you are, where your team is, how that club is moving forward. Understand the environment you are around. And try to be your best to maximize it all and try to go out and win games."
One of Kizer's biggest adjustments to the NFL starts in the huddle, where he'll be responsible with relaying the sometimes long and complicated play calls that are customary in the league. Simply relaying the message is a change for Kizer, who, like many college quarterbacks, received signals from coaches on the sidelines who held up signs.
The adjustment won't happen overnight, but Kizer is preparing as if it needs to.
"You have to be able to say the plays in the huddle before you can actually do anything," Kizer said. "That is going to be the biggest transition for me coming from a team where it was all hand signals in high school, also in college. So just to be able to go in there and command the huddle and be able to communicate to the guys is definitely the first thing on my agenda."
The transition might be more daunting if not for a coincidental connection between Kizer and Browns coach Hue Jackson.
In the months leading up to the draft, Kizer worked closely with former NFL quarterback Zac Robinson, who is now a private coach. From 2011-13, Robinson bounced between the practice squad and 90-man roster with the Cincinnati Bengals. Robinson missed the years when Jackson was offensive coordinator in Cincinnati but was around the coach enough to get a clear grasp of what he demands from his players.
He's passed it along to Kizer, who made it clear he knows what he doesn't know, and that's the first step toward success at the game's most demanding position.
"It is a new transition for me. This is a brand new process, a situation that I have never been a part of," Kizer said. "I am completely open with the ears to take as much coaching as I possibly can. I completely understand that the things I did in college are not going to just jump over to the NFL and be exactly what they were.
"It is going to take a lot of work so I am just going to learn as much as I can and become a pro as quickly as I can."
