Brandon Weeden, the 28-year-old rookie from Oklahoma State, has been named the Cleveland Browns preseason starting QB. Last year’s starter, Colt McCoy, has taken no snaps with the 1st team in training camp, and people are starting to wonder if he’ll even make the roster. (Is the franchise – which reportedly tried to trade him in April – still pissed at his dad about his comments after the Pittsburgh concussion game last year?)

So the Browns are going from one legendary Big 12 QB to a record-setting one. As we noted earlier this year, Big 12 QBs don’t exactly have a rich history recently in the NFL, but perhaps Weeden will change that. He’ll be handing off to Trent Richardson, and the Browns have slightly upgraded their receiving corps with the addition of Josh Gordon.

Don’t expect great things from Weeden immediately. Cleveland’s early schedule, from a defensive standpoint, is brutal:

vs. Philadelphia (#1 in sacks last year)
at Cincinnati (playoffs last year)
vs. Buffalo (maybe a top three defensive line in the AFC)
at Baltimore (Ravens’ D needs no introduction)
at NY Giants (Super Bowl champs, tied for 2nd in NFL in sacks)
at Cincinnati (45 sacks last year)

Weeden is the 3rd rookie QB to lock up a starting job. Andrew Luck and RG3 are the others. Ryan Tannehill? He’s 3rd on the depth chart going into the preseason. A darkhorse to be the 4th rookie starter? Russell Wilson in Seattle.

Previously: Handicapping Five Quarterback Battles in Training Camp: Jake Locker Taking the Lead, Kevin Kolb Leaving the Door Open