BEREA, Ohio -- After the first day of Browns training camp, Hue Jackson acknowledged that rookie DeShone Kizer is coming along faster than expected.
"Yes, he is,'' Jackson said. "He's understanding the offense. I could take you back to his days at OTAs - he struggled calling the plays. The words were a lot simpler. The language was a different. I did not see as much of that today. That is improvement. Obviously, he made some good throws and did not turn the ball over. Those things are good.
"Again, it's just one day. We are not going to make decisions on guys in one day. We have a lot of work to do."
But for Jackson to admit that the draft's 52nd pick is coming up the learning curve quickly bodes well for his future.
If Kizer continues at this clip, he'll soon be taking most of the first-team reps.
As it is, he's splitting them with man-to-beat Cody Kessler.
Each day until Jackson names his starter, we'll recap the quarterback competition.
The decision could happen before the first preseason game Aug. 10, and it could happen later.
In the meantime, here are some things you need to know:
1. The rotation remains the same as in minicamp: it's Kessler, Brock Osweiler, Kizer and Kevin Hogan. They were in shorts and shells on the first day, and won't be in full pads until Saturday.
2. Just because Kizer is going third, it doesn't mean he's No. 3 on the depth chart. He's splitting the first-team reps with Kessler, which means they're getting him ready to play sooner than later. Kessler wasn't taking first-team reps last summer because he wasn't expected to play.
3. Kizer is being coached hard. After one play on which he took off running up the middle and gained a chunk of yardage, quarterback coach David Lee talked to him about the play to explain what he could've done better. It appeared Kizer had some receivers open, and he may have given up on the play too early.
4. After Kizer faked a handoff to Rashard Higgins and threw an incompletion over the middle, Jackson pulled him aside. Coaches do not spend this much time with a player who is not slated to play. They're not spending this much time, for example, with Kevin Hogan. They didn't do so with Kessler last year.
5. Kizer has the superior physical skills of the four quarterbacks. He just has to pick up the mental side quickly enough for Jackson to feel comfortable with him.
6. Kizer completed a nice deep ball to a leaping Corey Coleman, and also found Ricardo Louis on the left sideline for a 30-yarder, but Louis' feet were out of bounds.
7. Kessler's best play of the day was a 60-yard TD pass to Kenny Britt down the right side, covering 35 yards in the air. Britt, who beat Joe Haden, left the field with cramps and did not return.
8. Osweiler didn't have a flashy day, but completed some nice passes, including an intermediate route to tight end J.P. Holtz with Myles Garrett bearing down on him.
9. Hogan had a pass batted at the line, but completed a 30-yarder to Isaiah Crowell down the left side.
10. It's evident that Kizer has picked up where he left off, breathing hard down Kessler's neck. It will be telling when the pads come on.