CLEVELAND, Ohio — [Browns](https://www.cleveland.com/browns/) head coach Kevin Stefanski took questions from reporters on Tuesday regarding the quarterback competition, Myles Garrett, Nick Chubb, and more.
Below is the transcript as provided by the Browns media relations department:
**Opening statement**
“Okay, day one of minicamp in the books. Guys are working very hard. Pleased with what we got done today. We’ll be back inside for more meetings, a walk through and a bunch of NFL mandatory meetings that we’re trying to knock out in this camp and then back out here tomorrow. But, really pleased with the work that the guys put forth today. With that, I’ll take any questions.”
**Kevin, the kind of the modified 7-on-7 that you guys going on there with the offensive line, what’s the kind of the process that you’re trying to, what’s the thing you’re trying to accomplish?**
“I think with 7-on-7, you’re always looking for ways to get that as close to a team drill without making it an 11-on-11, which you certainly can do. It’s harder to do that in the way the rules are written in the offseason program. So when you do 7-on-7, you’ve seen some teams walk out there with bags or tennis rackets or something. So this is something we’re trying to do is put our offensive line out there, let our other offensive linemen run games and stunts. So they’re still working their blitz pickup, and the quarterbacks get to feel the pocket, get to feel what that’s like.”
**Are you trying to get as many reps to the three new quarterbacks as you can before you get to training camp? I’m excluding (Joe) Flacco because his reps were really reduced.**
“Yeah, just trying to be intentional about everything. Certainly, Joe had fewer reps today. That’s obviously on purpose and just trying to find out, get as much of an evaluation on the guys as we can.”
**Looked like Dillon (Gabriel) obviously went first in your first set of 11-on-11s and it looks like it looked very efficient. Like the lights are really starting to come on, wouldn’t you just say?**
“Yeah, I’m pleased with all the young guys and their development. There’s a lot that goes into this and these guys work extremely hard. It’s something that I would say each position we’re asking them to do something that is a little bit different than what they did in college. Certainly, at the quarterback position, there’s a lot that goes into it. These guys are all well coached when we get them, but there’s things in the NFL game, just the rules are different in some areas. So I think all these guys are making really good progress.”
**Kevin, this is the first time we’ve seen Diontae Johnson out there. What are your impressions on him?**
“Diontae’s doing a nice job. Obviously getting up to speed with terminology and those types of things, and I think we’ll just continue to work. But it’s good to have him out here.”
**In terms of your play action, passing, how do you think the two rookies are adapting to it?**
“I would say for us, from a system, we want to be able to do to get under center, run play action, be in the gun and run play action, be in the pistol. I mean, we don’t want to limit ourselves in any way. I think the quarterbacks as a group are all capable of doing all of that. I think that’s the really fun part with this group of quarterbacks. They can kind of do it all. It’s. I think it’s an impressive group across the board, but I don’t think there’s a desire to, you have to do this or you have to do that.”
**Did Gabriel do much of it at Oregon?**
“I don’t think anybody’s done much of it in the college game. I was at a high school camp last night. Coach Lombardo and the St. Edward Eagles had their quarterback camp for young kids. And I went over to see Coach Lombardo and he was teaching under center and he said, how many of you guys are under center in grade school? And not very many hands went up. So, I think as we get them out of high school, out of college, there’s just, you know, fewer reps of those going around. So not many guys come in the league with under center.”
**What about Myles (Garrett)? How nice to see Myles in the house and just looks like he’s obviously in great shape and has worked hard.**
“Yeah, good to have Myles in the building, obviously being around his teammates. And as you can imagine, he’s in great shape and it’s good for us to just see where these guys are, get some work in and obviously expose them to some of the different nuances to what we’re doing.”
**How important just are the conversations between the quarterbacks themselves to getting, you know, not just the rookies on, you know, up to up the street, but even, you know, a guy like Joe, you know, on the same page.**
“Yeah, I’ve told you guys before and this is the truth and it’s true. Today even, I thought the discussion that occurs in the quarterback room is outstanding. It’s fun, it’s high-level discussion. It’s new for the two young guys. But to hear the experiences of Joe, Kenny (Pickett), Deshaun (Watson), I think it’s an impressive thing for those young guys to absorb. And there’s a lot of different stories that we hear of the guys, and we have different reps from their careers that they can talk through, but all of that is just invaluable for a young quarterback.”
**Will (Cedric) Tillman and (Mike) Woods be able to do anything this week?**
“We’ll see. They’re working hard. They’re getting close”
**What does that mean for young WRs?**
“Yeah, more reps for those guys. And we’ve asked a lot of them. They’ve done a great job. They work extremely hard. Coach (Chad) O’Shea, Coach (Stephen) Bravo-Brown are working hard with those guys to get them up to speed.”
**Hey, Kevin, you’ve always been such a Nick Chubb fan, so could you just comment on him getting this chance with Texans?**
“Yeah, obviously, excited for Nick. I haven’t talked to him yet but reached out to him. You guys know how I feel about him. He’s a huge part of our success here, huge part of this franchise. So, we wish him luck and, it’s something that we’ll obviously stay in touch with him throughout this year.”
**When’s the last thing that you did talk to Chubb?**
“In the offseason at some point.”
**With Deshaun, how involved is he in those meetings behind the scenes? And what did the young guys get out of his presence?**
“Yeah, that’s the value we have and veterans in that room. Deshaun’s, as you guys know, not practicing, but he’s rehabbing, attacking his rehab and being a resource for young players, which I think is a great message about being a great teammate – being available to all your young players, young and old, being available to your teammates.”
**What do you think he gets out of being here?**
“I would hope any player that’s here, whether they’re rehabbing or practicing, whatever it is, I think there’s value in just being around your teammates.”
**Kevin, talking about modifying 7-on-7 a little bit to help the quarterbacks feel the pocket. I imagine that’s an effort to try to help them play on time. Is that accurate?**
“I’d say it’s all the above, I’d say it’s playing on time. It’s under spatial awareness. It’s feeling where the guard’s going to be, feeling where the tackles are going to be. It’s finding lanes to throw. When you have a shallow cross coming from left to right, you have to find that lane and the B gap, the C gap as it goes across. So, it’s just trying to give them a little bit more of a visual other. Other people have done it a thousand different ways, but this is just one way that we feel like is valuable, and it’s also valuable for our offensive line because they can work their stunts and games during that time.”
**When it comes to that position, going through the progressions of what you want, getting rid of it when you want. How hard is that?**
“Well, I think the bedrock of being efficient on offense is getting through progressions on time and accurately, obviously, once the ball comes out. But being able to get through a progression is not as easy as it sounds. Your eyes are studying the defenders and seeing what they’re doing, and then ultimately, you’re listening to your feet. To quote an old Gary Kubiak line, you have a prescribed drop for a play, and that drop, and those hitches will take you where the ball is supposed to go. So whenever you do 7-on-7, naturally, that’s an advantage offensively drill, because there’s no pass rush. But you want the quarterbacks to put themselves in the game as much as they can and stay true to their feet, stay true to their progression.”
**Kevin, Joel (Bitonio) last week was talking about increased toughness, feeling like there’s increased toughness. Emphasis on that. How much has there been a topic of conversation, not just with the offensive line, but across the board increasing toughness, building that up a little bit?**
“I think the easy part is to talk about it. That’s the easy part. You can do it. I think the hard part is making sure that we have players, coaches, we’re putting them through a program that is callousing up our bodies, our minds. So, the work is hard, but the easy part would be to talk about it.”
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