Jeremy Bates, the Jets' new offensive coordinator, made one thing clear Wednesday, when he spoke publicly about quarterback Sam Darnold for the first time: He loves the kid's potential.

And the Jets are going to give Darnold every opportunity to win their Week 1 starting job -- in a competition with Josh McCown and Teddy Bridgewater -- after they drafted him third overall.

"Really impressed," Bates said of Darnold. "He came in at rookie camp [in early May] and he hasn't turned back. He's really into the meetings, really into the playbook. He has a very serious demeanor. Obviously, he's a rookie, and he's going to make some mistakes. But he doesn't make them twice. Really excited about having him as a New York Jet."

Bates said Darnold "hasn't flinched," and has been able to handle "everything we've thrown at him" since rookie minicamp.

The Jets aren't putting any restrictions on Darnold this spring and summer, as late July's training camp opening approaches. (The Jets conclude their three-day minicamp Thursday.)

"We threw the whole playbook at him, just like Josh and Teddy," Bates said. "If you treat them like a rookie, they'll become a rookie. So we threw the whole book at him, see what he can handle, what he needs to work on. He's done a really good job. There's a lot of information there.

"If he can handle it, if he can prove that he's the starter, then that will take place when the time comes. I don't want to speak for coach [Todd Bowles]. He makes the final decisions, of course. But we're here to play the best football players."

Darnold has most impressed Bates -- who remains the Jets' quarterbacks coach, a role he debuted in last season -- with his quick decision making.

"His suddenness," Bates said, when asked what most stands out about Darnold. "If you watch his college tape, he has the ability to make plays off schedule. He's just very sudden. If he sees a guy open, the ball is out now. I kind of describe him as a very sudden player. There's not a lost of wasted thought process, as you go from him thinking to releasing the ball."

Darnold must get adjusted to taking snaps from under center -- something he didn't do often during his college days in USC's shotgun offense, which didn't require him to make a lot of pre-snap decisions, either. Bates loves how Darnold has looked in the huddle and under center.

"Amazingly, just excellent," Bates said. "People don't understand [that] getting a snap from under center, a huddle experience of calling these long, paragraph plays, it's not easy. I've been around some rookies that took a whole year to be able to get in the huddle and have confidence and call those plays. Ever since rookie camp, he hasn't flinched. Everything we've thrown at him, he's been able to handle. So we're excited."

Darryl Slater may be reached at dslater@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @DarrylSlater. Find NJ.com Jets on Facebook.