BEREA, Ohio -- Cody Kessler heads into training camp the same way he did organized team activities: He's the man to beat in the quarterback competition.
"Cody will walk out there first, and we'll give him an opportunity there,'' Hue Jackson said during a press conference Wednesday to kick off training camp, which opens to the public Thursday afternoon at 3 p.m. "Obviously, Brock (Osweiler) and DeShone (Kizer) and Kevin (Hogan), all of those guys will get reps. This is a competition. Somebody has to walk out there first. We've made a decision that it'll be Cody and we will kind of go from there."
Jackson gave Kessler the nod even though rookie Kizer split first-team reps with him in the offseason and significantly narrowed the gap by the end of minicamp in June.
"(Kessler's) still the guy who demonstrates knowing the offense the best,'' said Jackson. "He's the guy that has played the most football for us in that group, and I think he deserves a chance to walk out there first."
So, how will Jackson handle the open competition?
"You have to kind of do that by feel," he said. "Like I said, Cody is going to walk out there first; DeShone is going to get reps; Brock is going to get reps; and Kevin is going to get reps, and then as we go through the process, we'll evaluate and see where we are.
"There will be markers as we go. There will be data that we'll look at to make very important decisions as we move forward. [The starting QB] could change. It could not change. That's all going to play out as we go through training camp."
Last season, Jackson named Robert Griffin III his starter by the first preseason game. Will he aim for that timeframe again?
"I'm not going to force it,'' he said. "What's important is to feel good about the guy that we stick out there. We're not going to be in a rush. Obviously, we want guys that play in games and play together and play as a unit and do all of those things. ... By the time that we get ready to play in the regular season, we'll have the right guy out there playing."
Jackson indicated that he wouldn't be opposed to starting a rookie. He got Joe Flacco ready to play as a rookie in 2008 -- the 11-5 Ravens used their vaunted defense to reach the AFC Championship Game.
He also prepared Kessler to start eight games last season, despite some trying circumstances and an injury-ravaged line.
"I've been fortunate in this division to bring a couple of guys along who were rookies and know how they play and know how your team functions around them,'' Jackson said. "We'll use anything and everything that we have to make the best decision when that time comes."
Jackson and quarterbacks coach David Lee were thrilled with how Kizer progressed from rookie minicamp -- when he couldn't bark out the plays -- to the end of minicamp when he was managing the offense and making some big plays. He also had his ups and downs, but started to look the part by minicamp.
"DeShone did a good job,'' said Jackson. "He's a very talented player, but he's still growing and still learning.
"I know we talk about DeShone more than we do Brock and more than we do Kevin, but all four of those guys are going to have to have an opportunity to walk out there and compete because that's the right way to run this."
Jackson insisted Osweiler has a legitimate chance to win the starting nod even though he's worked mostly with the second-teamers.
Browns head of football operations Sashi Brown said Osweiler's $16 million guaranteed salary isn't an issue. The Browns view a large chunk of that salary as the price of the second-round pick they got in the trade. Since that time, Osweiler has shortened his stride, improved his accuracy and proven to be coachable.
"He probably reaffirmed what we thought,'' said Brown. "He's not the most experienced [QB] - he's still young - but he certainly has more experience than DeShone, Kevin and Cody in that room, and that's valuable to us. Also, Brock is a competitive guy.
"He's done a nice job since he got here, and he's really dug into the playbook and really endeared himself to his teammates. Again, all four of the guys have an opportunity, and we look forward to seeing them out there."
Brown added, "when we acquired Brock, we understood he was going to have a chance to come in and establish himself as the starter. That does not mean he had to be the starter for him to be on our roster. It is that simple."
Jackson knows he'll have to move the process along to get his starter ready for the opener Sept. 10 against the Steelers.
"I can't tell you exactly how fast it's going to happen, but I think we all know that old saying - 'The cream kind of rises to the top,'" he said. "They'll start to separate themselves as we go. As that happens, we'll make that decision and make sure [the starter] gets enough reps to be ready to play."
At 3 p.m Thursday, it's game on.