Cody Kessler
No. 6 – Cleveland Browns | |||||||||||||
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Position: | Quarterback | ||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||
Born: | Bakersfield, California | April 11, 1993||||||||||||
Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||||
Weight: | 215 lb (98 kg) | ||||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||||
College: | USC | ||||||||||||
NFL draft: | 2016 / round: 3 / pick: 93 | ||||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||||
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Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
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Career NFL statistics as of Week 11, 2016 | |||||||||||||
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Cody David Kessler (born May 11, 1993) is an American football quarterback for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at USC, and was drafted by the Browns in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft.
Early years
Kessler attended Centennial High School in Bakersfield, California. As a senior, he threw for 2,831 yards and 36 touchdowns. He was the California Gatorade Football Player of the Year.[1] He was ranked as the second best pro-style quarterback recruit by Rivals.com.[2] He was teammates with Jared Norris at Centennial High.[3][4]
College career
2011–2012
Kessler was redshirted in 2011. In 2012 he was a backup to Matt Barkley. He completed two passes for nine yards.
2013
In 2013, he competed with Max Wittek for the starting quarterback job. He ended up winning the job from Wittek.[5][6] His first pass touchdown came in the season opener against Hawaii to Nelson Agholor for 19 yards on August 29, 2013. He was 25-for-37 for 288 yards and a touchdown in an upset win against Stanford to receive Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week honors. Kessler led USC to a 10–4 record, finishing the year 7–2 under interim head coaches Ed Orgeron and Clay Helton. Kessler was 22-for-30 for 345 yards with a career-best 4 touchdowns in the 2013 Las Vegas Bowl rout over Fresno State, and received MVP honors. For the season he completed 236 of 361 passes for 2,968 yards, 20 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
2014
USC hired former USC assistant and University of Washington head coach Steve Sarkisian to replace interim head coach Ed Orgeron. Despite it being an open competition, Kessler beat out Max Browne and Jalen Greene for the quarterback spot. On August 30, 2014 Kessler threw for a career-high 394 yards and accounted for 4 total touchdowns against Fresno State, leading to his first of three designations as Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week.[7] On October 18, Kessler accounted for seven touchdowns against Colorado, the most ever by a USC quarterback, leading to his second designation as Offensive Player of the week.[8][9] In the final game of the regular season, Kessler threw six touchdowns against the rival Notre Dame Fighting Irish, the most touchdowns thrown by a single quarterback against the Irish in the 127-year history of the program, leading one Los Angeles Times writer to label him a potential 2015 Heisman Trophy candidate. This achievement led to his third designation as Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week, tying him with Marcus Mariota for the most designations for the 2014 season.[10] He finished the season completing 315 of 452 passes for 3,826 yards with 39 touchdowns and five interceptions.
2015
As a senior, he started all 14 games and completed 298 of 446 passes for 3,536 yards with 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He finished his career with 10,339 yards, 88 touchdowns and 19 interceptions.
Statistics
Year | Team | Passing | Rushing | ||||||||||
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Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | ||
2012 | USC | 2 | 2 | 100.0 | 9 | 4.5 | 0 | 0 | 137.8 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
2013 | USC | 236 | 361 | 65.4 | 2,968 | 8.2 | 20 | 7 | 148.8 | 42 | -124 | -3.0 | 1 |
2014 | USC | 315 | 452 | 69.7 | 3,826 | 8.5 | 39 | 5 | 167.1 | 55 | -152 | -2.8 | 2 |
2015 | USC | 298 | 446 | 66.8 | 3,536 | 7.9 | 29 | 7 | 151.7 | 61 | -149 | -2.4 | 4 |
Career | 851 | 1,261 | 67.5 | 10,339 | 8.2 | 88 | 19 | 156.4 | 158 | -425 | -2.7 | 7 |
Source:[11]
Professional career
Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | |||||
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6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
220 lb (100 kg) |
32+5⁄8 | 10+7⁄8 | 4.89 s | 7.32 s | 29.5 in (0.75 m) |
8 ft 8 in (2.64 m) | |||||
All values from NFL Combine,[12] |
Kessler was drafted by the Cleveland Browns with the 93rd overall pick in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft.[13] On June 8, Kessler signed a four-year contract worth about $3.4 million, which included a signing bonus worth about $660,000.[14] Kessler began the 2016 season as the third string quarterback behind backup Josh McCown and starter Robert Griffin III. He became the second stringer behind McCown after Robert Griffin III suffered a broken bone in his left shoulder in the team's Week 1 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on September 11, 2016, causing Griffin to miss at least eight games.[15] After a McCown injury in week two, Kessler started the Week 3 game against the Miami Dolphins and threw for 244 yards as the Browns lost in overtime 24–30.[16]
Professional statistics
Passing | Rushing | Sacked | Fumbles | Team record | |||||||||||||||
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Year | Team | G | GS | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Sack | Fum | Lost | W/L (as starter) |
2016 | CLE | 6 | 6 | 108 | 160 | 67.5 | 1150 | 7.2 | 5 | 1 | 96.1 | 9 | 13 | 1.4 | 0 | 14 | 4 | 1 | 0-6 |
Total | 6 | 6 | 108 | 160 | 67.5 | 1150 | 7.2 | 5 | 1 | 96.1 | 9 | 13 | 1.4 | 0 | 14 | 4 | 1 | 0-6 |
References
- ^ Kessler named state's top player
- ^ Rivals.com
- ^ Goon, Kyle (October 23, 2014). "Utes' Norris, USC's Kessler go way back". sltrib.com. Archived from the original on October 24, 2016. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
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suggested) (help) - ^ Facer, Dirk (October 23, 2015). "Utah football's Jared Norris, USC's Cody Kessler reunite as seniors". deseretnews.com. Archived from the original on October 24, 2016. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
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suggested) (help) - ^ Cody Kessler, Max Wittek still competing to start for USC
- ^ USC football: Max Wittek, Cody Kessler get final audition
- ^ "USC routs Fresno State, 52–13, as freshmen shine". Los Angeles Times. August 30, 2014. Retrieved August 31, 2014.
- ^ Thiry, Lindsey (October 18, 2014). "USC routs Colorado, 56–28, as Kessler throws for record seven touchdowns". LA Times. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
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(help) - ^ Markazi, Arash (October 18, 2014). "Cody Kessler has record effort". ESPNLosAngeles.com. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
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(help) - ^ Plaschke, Bill (November 28, 2014). "USC's Cody Kessler looks like a 2015 Heisman Trophy candidate". LA Times. Retrieved November 29, 2014.
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(help) - ^ "Cody Kessler". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 11, 2016.
- ^ "NFL Events: Combine Player Profiles - Cody Kessler". National Football League.
- ^ Cabot, Mary Kay (April 29, 2016). "USC quarterback Cody Kessler drafted by Browns at No. 93". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
- ^ Cabot, Mary Kay (June 9, 2016). "Browns rookie QB Cody Kessler signs 4-year, $3.4 million contract". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
- ^ Cabot, Mary Kay (September 12, 2016). "Robert Griffin III on IR for at least 8 games with broken bone in shoulder; Josh McCown to start". cleveland.com. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
- ^ Maks, Patrick (September 25, 2016). "Cody Kessler, with support from hometown and teammates, shows promise in debut". clevelandbrowns.com. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
- ^ http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/K/KessCo00.htm