Cody Kessler wakes up every morning and takes the early shuttle to Berea.
The Browns rookie quarterback said he gets out of bed around 5:45 a.m. and he's in the team's facility by 6:25 a.m. at the latest.
Kessler, the former USC standout drafted by the Browns in the third round, outlined Tuesday the reasons why he's doing the most to maximize his time here before departing back to Southern California for the summer following Cleveland's mandatory veteran minicamp this week.
"For me it's always been that I don't ever want to have an excuse for why I didn't grasp the offense or anything," Kessler said. "If I have the opportunity, if there's a film room open, if I can stay here as long as I can, I want to take advantage of that."
That's been Kessler's approach as the Browns near the end of offseason workouts. The 23-year-old wants to return to Ohio with an extensive knowledge of coach Hue Jackson's offense and begin to master the ins and outs of playing in the NFL.
"I want to come into camp and act like I've been in this offense for 10 years, I want to be completely understanding of everything, I want to know how to read defenses in the NFL, I want to know how many different looks there are so that eliminates hesitation for me going into (training) camp," Kessler said, "because in the NFL you have to play at a high level, you have to play at a fast pace and I've had a little bit of a taste of that in OTAs and going into minicamp.
"But for me, I don't want to stay comfortable, I don't want to go a month away and just lose everything. I want to get farther ahead and jump ahead. That's always been me, just the work ethic, this next month is going to be very crucial to me."
Indeed, Kessler finds himself in a competition with Josh McCown, Robert Griffin III, Austin Davis and Connor Shaw. At the same time, the Bakersfield, California, native says he's learning all he can from his veteran counterparts.
"It's been really competitive and you can especially tell when we're throwing and we get reps in seven-on-seven and different team events," Kessler said. "And for me, I'm still learning, I haven't thought about when I get reps or where I get reps, I just know when I go in there I want to make the most of each opportunity I have."
The Browns took to the practice fields for their final offseason training activity of 2016 before next week's minicamp.
Jackson said the Browns are still in the process of evaluating all options at the position, and Kessler is doing all he can to prove his worth to the coaching staff, regardless of where he takes reps on a fluid depth chart.
"If I'm getting reps then I'm excited, I'm going to get in there and make the most of them. And if I'm not, I'm treating it as if I am. I'm using mental reps, I'm watching them and standing behind the play and going through the play in my head and kind of shadowing the quarterback and doing my own footwork and doing the reads," he said.
"Whatever I get, whether it's the ones, twos or threes or standing off to the side watching, I'm going to make the most of it."
And Kessler, who says he's working to master the "language" on offense, won't relent one way or the other.
"I just want to come out and compete — that's all I can control is how I play on the field and how well I take advantage of every opportunity I get," he said.
"At the end of the day, whatever the decision is, I'm still going to treat myself like as a starter whether I am or not, no matter whatever happens. I'm still going to take the mindset as a starter and you have to at any level, you have to every day."
Expect more early mornings.
