BEREA, Ohio -- Hue Jackson summed up the latest Cleveland Browns starting quarterback this way: "I have seen him do some good things. I have seen him do some things that he needs to improve."
Which pretty much sums up the way the Browns view Cody Kessler getting the start for the Browns Sunday in Miami.
Kessler is a third-round pick, and when he takes the first snap on Sunday he will become the 26th Browns starting quarterback since 1999.
Who is this latest Browns quarterback?
Kessler grew up in Bakersfield, Calif., which he called a working-class town like Cleveland.
As a freshman at USC, he took a mentoring class from former Browns quarterback Paul McDonald.
In 2012, he visited Haiti to build homes for local families.
He's a workaholic. At rookie minicamp, the Browns were surprised when they did a curfew check at the hotel to see all the rookie receivers in Kessler's room studying the playbook -- at Kessler's insistence.
He completed 67.5 percent of his passes in his USC career. According to the Sporting News, Kessler was the only one of the top five in career completion percentage to play in a pro-style offense.
Kessler said Josh McCown has been a huge help to him, not only teaching him how to prepare for the pro game but also the things that McCown wished he'd done when he first entered the league.
In high school Kessler averaged 29.5 points and 11 rebounds in basketball.
Kessler will face a defensive line that includes Ndamukong Suh, Mario Williams and Cameron Wake. Each has been to four Pro Bowls (ugh).
When he arrived at rookie minicamp, coach Jackson gave Kessler 20 different facets of the quarterback position to focus on.
In preseason play, Kessler was 19-for-28 for 92 yards with one touchdown, no interceptions and seven sacks. He also ran out of the back of the end zone for a safety.
To improve his accuracy in college, Kessler watched as much tape as he could of Drew Brees.
Kessler and Corey Coleman worked out in California together to prepare for the draft.
He ranks third in USC history with 88 touchdown passes and fourth in passing yards with 10,339 yards.
He taught himself to play guitar and calls Luke Bryan and Toby Keith his favorite musicians ("How Do You Like Me Now?").
He shrugs off criticism that he should not have been drafted in the third round at 6-foot-1, saying he's beat criticism his entire life.
Kessler once threw for seven touchdowns in a game against Colorado -- one for 75 yards.
He has an undergraduate degree in sociology and is working toward a Master's Degree in communication management.
Starting Kessler in week three was clearly not in the short- or long-term plan, but Hue Jackson has little choice -- even if it might not be ideal for Kessler's development.
"I don’t know if it could stunt his growth," Jackson said. "It is either going to improve it or do something to it, right? I understand what you are saying, but something is going to come from it, something good or something bad."
Jackson also chuckled when his draft statement was resurrected. That day, when Kessler was a surprise third-round pick, Jackson finally grew weary of questions and said: "You have to trust me on this one."
"You are going to trust me this weekend," Jackson said with a smile. "Here we go. Trust me. Here we come. Here we go. We will see what that statement was all about.”
