BEREA: Cody Kessler fancies himself as a lean, mean, throwing machine.
A grueling workout regimen and an ultra-strict diet allowed Kessler to gain a few pounds of muscle, lower his body-fat percentage and augment his arm strength this offseason.
Those physical gains have combined with polished mechanics to make Kessler more confident about his mission to become the starting quarterback of the Browns and ultimately lead them to wins a year after he went 0-8 as a rookie for a team that finished 1-15.
“Being able to push the ball down the field and having that confidence and knowing that you can get it there and put a little more on it is something that definitely helps you,” Kessler said Wednesday after the second practice of organized team activities, the first one open to media.
Kessler is working as the first-team quarterback during OTAs in an open competition with Brock Osweiler, rookie DeShone Kizer and Kevin Hogan.
And even though Kessler is the early favorite to start the Sept. 10 regular-season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers, arm strength will be a crucial factor in his bid.
Browns coach Hue Jackson wants his quarterback to trigger a consistently successful deep-passing attack, but Kessler failed to adequately meet the request this past season. Jackson publicly lamented the shortcoming and thereby foreshadowed his decision to bench Kessler in the third quarter of a Thursday night game with the Browns trailing the Baltimore Ravens by six points.
This spring, his passes appear to be a bit more powerful.
“I think Cody is stronger and the ball has more zip on it,” Jackson said. “He has worked extremely hard. What he is working at now is maintaining it and being able to do it week in and week out and day in and day out. That is his challenge, and we will keep staying after it with him.”
To progress to this point, Kessler became a fixture in the weight room.
“A lot of core work,” he said. “A lot of upper-body work.”
He also ate the same healthy meals and snacks every day for two-and-a-half to three months as recommended by Browns performance dietitian Katy Meassick.
“It worked for me,” Kessler said. “I really stuck to it. It was boring, but it was something I was committed to and decided to do in the offseason because I’d never really committed myself to a meal plan that strictly and stuck to it. It was tough, but it was worth it.”
In Kessler’s mind, though, the most important steps he took stemmed from fine-tuning his mechanics while training with throwing guru Tom House in Los Angeles.
“A lot of my throws last year were completely upper body,” said Kessler, a third-round pick from the University of Southern California. “I was throwing a ton of upper body and not being able to get my legs into my throw. Just being able to stay back on your weight and push off your back plant foot is something that’s huge.”
Kessler insisted those adjustments have made a glaring difference from his perspective.
“It feels like I’m throwing it harder but with a little bit less effort,” he said. “It doesn’t feel like I’m putting as much strain on my shoulder or my arm and just trying to throw it as hard as I can every time.
“It just feels a little bit more fluid, and instead of trying to strain and get everything you have into it, you can get that transition from your legs to your upper body, and it makes it a little bit more easier.”
Kessler admitted it’s also easier to focus on the play call, defense and reads when he’s not worried about whether his arm is strong enough to complete an imminent pass.
“It helps out knowing that you can make all the throws and you feel comfortable making all the throws [because] it allows you to be more mentally focused on game plan, scheme,” he said. “... Which I think helped me out a lot being able to play a lot faster.
“The way that I worked this offseason kind of helped me out not only physically, but mentally as well.”
Jackson’s vote of confidence has been good for Kessler’s mindset. Jackson has said Kessler deserved to enter OTAs as the No. 1 quarterback and predicted he’ll do everything in his power to maintain the spot atop the depth chart.
“For your coach to say that obviously gives you some confidence,” Kessler said. “But at the same time, I just look at that as another opportunity.
“The other three guys are great quarterbacks, Brock and DeShone and Kevin. It’s going to be a really good competition.”
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Browns blog at www.ohio.com/browns. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NateUlrichABJ and on Facebook www.facebook.com/abj.sports.