BEREA, Ohio -- DeShone Kizer indicated he was hoping Hue Jackson would bump him up to No. 1 this week and start him in Thursday night's preseason opener against the Saints instead of Brock Osweiler.



"I'm a competitor,'' Kizer said. "It's my ultimate goal to be out there playing. We put in a lot of work to do what we do and I'd love to be the guy who's stepping out there as the starting guy, but until then, this is still part of the process. We've been able to obviously have a certain path they want me to take.



"Coach Jackson's been pushing me along that path and moving me at the pace that I think is acceptable at the time and hopefully one day I'll be the guy to step out there on gameday as the first guy to take reps. But for now, it's about just maximizing the opportunities that are given to me.''



Jackson called the quarterbacks in on Monday morning and laid out the plan: Osweiler first, Cody Kessler second, Kizer third and Hogan fourth against the Saints. But Kizer took some consolation in the fact that it's just for this game. The competition to face the Steelers on opening day is still wide open.



"Yeah, absolutely,'' he said. "This is the decision that was made today and tomorrow's tomorrow and the next day's the next day. I think right now, this is just an opportunity for myself to once again see what Brock does in this No. 1 spot. He's the guy in there with the most experience, so to have this learning opportunity for me is going to be very valuable for my career.''



He acknowledged it's a chance to still step up and seize the job.



"From there, we'll see how this practice goes and how training camp continues to go within that and the message will be kind of created within ourselves how we want to go about this quarterback competition man to man,'' he said.



The announcement came three days after Kizer failed to put any points on the board in the Orange and Brown Scrimmage at FirstEnergy Stadium, despite the fact he was working with the starters vs. the backups. He especially struggled on a four-minute drive at the end, during which he misfired three times into the end zone, missing a wide open Duke Johnson, overthrowing a tightly covered Corey Coleman, and having an interception slip through the hands of Calvin Pryor.



"I see a lot of room for improvement, a lot of room to take my game to the next level,'' said Kizer. "After watching that, it definitely plays right into where I think I am, and that's a guy who's looking to learn as much as I possibly can, a guy who has some consistency things that I need to clean up. There's still a lot of work for me to do before I become the quarterback that I want to become one day.''



Kessler, who also worked with the starters against the backups, also failed to score on the second team D, but Osweiler -- working with the twos against the ones -- put up two field goals in his four drives.



Now, he'll get a chance to see if he can hang on for the opening day start, or if he's just holding the spot until Kizer demonstrates he's ready. The coaches have raved about Kizer this camp, and seem to hope he steps up and takes the job. But they're also full prepared to take their time with him. Regardless, he believes it's 'very vital' for someones to seize the role.



"There needs to be a pecking order in order for the leadership to happen the way it needs to,'' said Kizer. "Brock was named that guy, and this week he's already out there running things the way he needs to run them as a true one quarterback.''



Kizer said if they switch it up again, "then that guy needs to step in that week and treat it as if it's his team. So I think that this is an opportunity for me now to watch the way he takes over this No. 1 spot. He has a lot of experience being a starting quarterback and playing in some big games and I'm looking forward to learning from the way he approaches the game.''



One reason the Browns may have started Osweiler ahead of Kizer is that the starter normally plays only a series or two in the preseason opener, and the current lineup gives Kizer a chance to get many more live reps. If he can handle it, he may get a chance to be the guy at some point this preseason to see if he's anywhere near ready to face the Steelers.

In the scrimmage, and again in a mock game the following day in Berea, Kizer struggled with some of his mechanics, including footwork and accuracy. Several of his throws in the scrimmage appeared way off the mark, but some could've been due to miscommunications. At Notre Dame, his completion percentage dipped from 58.7% last year from 62.9% the year before, thanks in part to the loss of most of his starting receivers.

"(Accuracy's) always going to be No. 1,'' said Kizer. "This game doesn't work at the quarterback position if you can't put the ball on the receiver. The things that separate the guys from good to great are typically being able to make passes and complete passes when there's tough defenders on them, when they're in man-to-man situations and it's mano a mano, it's up to the quarterback to make sure he puts the ball where it needs to be.''

He said he hasn't been disappointed with his accuracy in practice. In fact, he's been on the mark for most of camp and has dazzled with some of his throws.

"Disappointed? No. Do I think I'm getting better? absolutely,'' he said. "This is a process and that's a message that's been continued to be passed to me since the day that I stepped foot here in Berea. And as long as I continue to try to get better and continue to do the things that coaches lie in front of me, then hopefully one day I'll be able to be at the level that i want to be at.''

Kizer said Jackson stressed, ""'put the ball in the guy's face. Make sure that the ball is where it needs to be, and different routes call for different ball placement.' We spend quite bit of time making sure we're going over that in our notes, and once again, it's our goal to just try to put it on his face and put it in a catchable position.''

He acknowledged, "the things that separate the guys from good to great are typically being able to make passes and complete passes when there's tough defenders on them, when they're in man-to-man situations and it's mano a mano. It's up to the quarterback to make sure he puts the ball where it needs to be.''

Kizer, who's been splitting first-team reps in practice with Kessler, said he has no idea if he'll continue work with the ones -- but he likely will.

"If it's with ones, twos, threes, a preseason rep, a training camp rep, a game rep, whenever my number's called, I'm going to play,'' he said.

Since rookie minicamp in May, Kizer has been working over time to win the job. He constantly studies his playbook, and stays out after practice to recite the plays and correct any mistakes. He often works overtime with Kessler long after most of the players have gone in, and he also runs sprints after practice. After Jackson's decision, he might even ramp up those efforts.

"Everything that I've been doing up until now it's to try to develop and become the best quarterback I can. Whenever my number's called I go out there and perform the way I know how to.''

As for Thursday night, he has no idea what to expect.

"I'm excited to see what it's like,'' he said. "Finally we need to go out there and take out this toughness, this drive that this team has been able to develop on a different team.''

And maybe prove to his coaches that he deserves a crack at No. 1 soon too.