BEREA, Ohio - Browns safety Donte Whitner revealed Tuesday that LeBron James' righthand man and business partner Maverick Carter has taken the lead in helping Johnny Manziel stay on the straight and narrow.

"He's taken a big responsibility in making sure that Johnny's doing all the right things,'' Whitner said after the first day of organized team activities. "(Manziel) has a mentor, somebody to talk to, certain things that he really didn't have the ability (to do) or somebody to talk to before. It looks like it's working out so far.''

Carter is the co-founder of LRMR with James, the marketing firm that represents Manziel. He's been spending a lot of time with Manziel since he was discharged from 10 weeks of inpatient rehab on April 11. Among other things, they've been sitting courtside at Cavs playoff games and spending time with James, who's also taken Manziel under his wing.

Manziel, who took the second-team reps Tuesday behind likely starter Josh McCown, has been seen out socially since he left the Caron Addiction Treatment Center. But he's usually with Joe Haden, Whitner or Carter -- all of whom know how important it is for him to stay on the right path.



"We don't really have to say anything,'' said Whitner. "He's been doing that any way. I remember last (year) they made a big fuss about Johnny being in Vegas for Memorial Day Weekend. Johnny was here in Cleveland for Memorial day weekend this year. So that's another step that he's taken.

"He understands that you can't be in Vegas or Miami or any of these other places, you have to be here. If you have to come in a day or two extra for an hour or two per day, that's what quarterbacks do. And no matter if you like it, you have to be here.''

Whitner, who's grown close to Manziel, said the second-year quarterback seems to understand the importance of doing the right things and staying out of the public eye.

"First of all, Johnny's a very young guy,'' he said. "He understands the mistakes that he's made, so he's taken the proper steps to try to keep himself out of the trouble. From being out or people seeing him somewhere and saying 'Johnny's doing this, Johnny's doing that' and now he understands how serious it is. He'll be all right.

"Today was our first day being out here, but I could tell you one thing, he was here 100 percent of the time in offseason workouts, from conditioning and running and lifting, putting extra time in. Everything off the field and the things he's supposed to be doing, he's really doing. So hopefully that translates to him going out there, making plays and becoming the quarterback that we think he can become and that he wants to become.''

Whitner has seen the change not only in Manziel, but in fellow 2014 first-round pick Justin Gilbert, who managed only two starts last year.

"It takes for guys in the media to get on you and the fans to get on you to really understand that it's not just coming from within this building, it's everybody keeping an eye on you,'' said Whitner. "You're a first-round pick for a reason. ..(when) you're showing up late and you're missing meetings and things, that's when it's time for guys to really get on you. So they understand that now ....and the guys really want to be good. Last year was disastrous for them and I don't think they want to repeat that again.''

Manziel's first day of OTAs was much like his practices of last season: some good and some bad. He made some nice throws, including a 45-yarder to Rod Smith over K'Waun Williams in receiver/defensive back drills, but Wiliams got revenge in 7-on-7s when he stepped in front of a short out route to Andrew Hawkins for a pick-six. Once, he scrambled right to avoid the rush and flipped a short pass to Darius Jennings, showing a little flash of his Johnny Football athleticism.

All-in-all, Manziel's footwork looked good and he appeared much more deliberate in going through his progressions than he did last year. The ball also came out of his hand well, especially on the shorter throws. He uncorked a few wobblers on the deeper routes, but that's not unusual, especially in an OTA practice.

"Obviously, the ESPN stuff that he can do is there and that doesn't change,'' said Josh McCown. "You see that a little bit, but it's not live. From afar, until you get to throw with a guy in person, you don't know how strong his arm is and man, he can really spin it. And so with some of the things we're asking the quarterback to do now, he's handling that, which is tough for a young quarterback especially, but he's embracing those things. Being able to do those things early, I think those are the things you've gotta have and I've seen that so far and that's cool."

But McCown, who's also mentoring Manziel, knows that he's a work in progress right now.

"For Johnny, it's one day at a time,'' said McCown. "You just gotta keep stacking good days and from everything I've seen, every day is a good day. He's put one good day on top of another and I'm really proud of him for that. He's in there working and asking questions and staying late and doing all the little things to play this position because this position is very demanding and it's demanding of a lot of things -- emotionally, your time and effort -- and I think he's understanding that and he's embracing that and that's the key.

"If you don't embrace those things, you don't have a fighting chance. It's been really good to work with him, too.''

McCown, who's been declared the favorite to start the season, believes it's best for everyone that coach Mike Pettine has eliminated a potentially divisive quarterback competition in camp between him and Manziel.

"More than anything, for me, I just believe it takes away from any kind of distraction that you can have and the team can just move in one direction, regardless of who that guy is,'' said McCown. "It's helpful to just say, 'This is our guy until something happens and he's not our guy.' But I agree with that philosophy and that approach.

"It doesn't take anything away from our group and it doesn't take away from what Johnny and Thad (Lewis) and Connor (Shaw) are doing. We're all working together."

The Browns largely left it up to Manziel whether or not he wanted to address the media on the first day of OTAs, but he opted to keep letting his actions speak louder than his words for now.

Coach Mike Pettine said Manziel earned the second-team reps "just based on how those guys came out of Phase II" of the offseason program.

He declined to grade his first-day performance, but is encouraged by what he's seen.

"He's been very engaged in the meetings and that's good to see that a lot of stuff carried over from the meetings onto the field,'' he said. "Not just for him, but for all of the quarterbacks. I feel a much better sense of urgency from that room and much more attention to detail."

He said Manziel's personality change hasn't been dramatic.

"I just think he's probably a little bit more focused now, but it's something that he knows and he has said, he'll have to prove it every day,'' he said.

Manziel looked happy and at ease on the field, chatting with teammates between drills, and then spent a few minutes afterwards talking to general manager Ray Farmer, one of his biggest supporters.

"In the locker room I just think he has maybe a better level of confidence,'' said guard John Greco. "Out here it's the same. He's focused. We see that. That's very apparent. We've welcomed him back, we're happy that he's feeling better and happy he's going to help us win some games.''

Browns right tackle Mitchell Schwartz has been impressed with Manziel's football acumen.

"He definitely gets it,'' said Schwartz. "He understands football really well. You can see certain things where he's seeing safeties run down and changing protections. He's able to kind of see the whole field. He's not locked in on 'okay, I've got to do this and take these specific steps.' He's got a really good ability to read everything and play it out.

"Especially, I don't know what they did in college but the perception is that he just kind of runs around and chuck it up there and his receivers go make the play. I was really impressed with how well he grasped offensive and defensive concepts and what they were throwing at him.''

One day at a time, Manziel is putting his game, and his life, back together.