Kizer fired up to compete at QB for Browns

DeShone Kizer wasn’t selected right away, but he’d like to become the starting quarterback of the Cleveland Browns right away.

Kizer and his family attended the NFL draft Thursday in Philadelphia, where the former Notre Dame player waited to be picked but left disappointed. On Friday, when Kizer was back in his hometown of Toledo, the Browns took him in the second round at No. 52 overall.

Coach Hue Jackson said Kizer will receive a chance to compete for the starting job with Cody Kessler, Brock Osweiler and Kevin Hogan.

“The best way to go out and contribute is to be playing yourself, so I am going to be doing whatever I can to learn as fast as I can and as quickly as I can to play,” Kizer said Saturday at Browns headquarters in Berea. “That is the reason you play football, to play and not to sit around and watch from the sidelines.”

Jackson said he’s excited Kizer wants to compete.

“We’re not going to stop him from wanting to do that. But there’s a lot of work to do, and I think he’ll find that out as we go,” Jackson said. “And if he can handle that, great. We’re not going to say, ‘No, you can’t play,’ if he’s ready to play. But at the same time, he has to understand and I don’t think I’ve had enough time with him that way to be able to say exactly what this is that he needs to make sure he’s on top of.”

Kizer acknowledged he needs to fix the footwork and mechanics that led to his accuracy problems at Notre Dame. He said Jackson and Browns quarterbacks coach David Lee “have the answer,” so he’s excited to work with them.

Despite Kizer’s lack of consistency this past season, when Notre Dame finished 4-8 a year after he helped the Fighting Irish go 8-3, he has prototypical size and arm strength. Put another way, Kizer, 6 feet 4 and 233 pounds, is built to play in the AFC North.

“This is a division and an area in the country where you have to be tough, you have to be big, you have to have big hands and you have to be able to play in Former Notre Dame quarterback DeShone Kizer, a Toledo native, welcomes the prospect of playing cold-weather games in the AFC North. different weather conditions,” he said. “That is something that I have been doing my whole life. Football, to me, is meant to be played in the cold.”

Charges cast shadow on sixth-round pick

The Browns raised some eyebrows by using the first pick of the sixth round on Florida defensive tackle

Caleb Brantley, who is facing a domestic battery charge. His draft stock plummeted following the charge.

"We communicated to Caleb how serious a matter this is to us," executive vice president Sashi Brown said. "This is still something that we're investigating and looking into, and that facts may turn up that prevent us from 1. Myles Garrett, DE, Texas A&M 25. Jabrill Peppers, S, Michigan 29. David Njoku, TE, Miami

Round 2

52. DeShone Kizer, QB, Notre Dame

Round 3

65. Larry Ogunjobi, DT, Charlotte

Round 4

126. Howard Wilson, CB, Houston

Round 5

160. Roderick Johnson, OT, Florida State

Round 6

185. Caleb Brantley, DT, Florida

Round 7

224. Zane Gonzalez, K, Arizona State

252. Matthew Dayes, RB, N.C. State being able to keep him on our roster."

Brantley led the Gators with 9½ tackles for loss and had 2½ sacks.