On Thursday, May 23, 2013, Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins addressed the media following an OTA practice at Redskins Park.

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On his haircut:

"Yeah, I found a place in Ashburn to get my haircut, so it was a productive offseason. The last time I was in this position, at the podium, I was live on SportsCenter and didn't realize it. I started rambling about a bad haircut. So, if I'm live on SportsCenter, somebody tell me."

On the challenges of his role this offseason:

"I think it's a great opportunity for me. Even if Robert [Griffin III] comes backs tomorrow ready to go, the fact that I got reps with the number one offense for the first three practices is a great benefit to me. However long I have a chance to get reps is a blessing. Obviously I want to see Robert come back healthy and as strong as ever. I see this as a great opportunity for me for however long it lasts. It's a challenge to be a backup quarterback, but that's what I signed up for. If I can't meet that challenge I really have no business someday being a starter. I view this opportunity as a backup and the challenges it brings as the proving grounds for being a starter."

On his mindset at practices:

"My mindset as a backup, whether it was at Michigan State or here in the NFL, is that I want to play so well in practice that, even if I'm not the guy, the coaches are going back to meetings, watching film and saying, 'I can't wait until we can give this guy an opportunity to show us what he can do on Sundays.' I want them to be excited about me. I want to create excitement in that coaching meeting room, even if I not out there on Sundays doing it. I want to continue to work hard so that happens."

On his playing time his rookie year:

"Yeah, I don't know if I would've expected to start a game my rookie year and play an entire game. I probably wouldn't have expected to play as well as we did in that game, but clearly it was a great rookie year when you talk about winning the division for the first time in many years. It probably did exceed my expectations and now the bar is set that much higher for our second year. We're excited about that and we're working hard right now to make it a good year."

On receiving more reps this offseason:

"I wasn't expecting to be with the No. 1 offense much at all, so now to be able to do it for several extended practices will help my growth and development tremendously."

On his experience in the Pistol and zone read:

"I didn't do any Pistol in college. I didn't do any zone read in college, whereas Robert had done that quite extensively. For me it was very foreign last year. I was learning on the fly, and obviously when I got in the game, that was not our bread and butter. It still won't be, but having a little more experience with it now I feel much more comfortable doing it. I'm working hard on my agility to make it a viable option for me. We're going to keep practicing it and have it ready for fall."

On importance of practicing zone read and Pistol:

"Even if the quarterback is as slow as can be and isn't quite simulating Robert, it's still worthwhile to call to get reps for the other 10 guys because a day is going to come when Robert is back and it will be called."

On his mindset entering the season:

"My mindset last year was to be ready to go and to have a mindset of preparing like I'm starting. If you start to let the thought that I'm probably not going to start creep in then I think your preparation starts to suffer. Whether it was last year or this year, regardless of the injury, my mindset was to just be ready to go as if I was starting and then react from there. I'll never regret the preparation that I put in. I'll never regret that."

On auditioning for the other 31 teams:

"Well, every game is filmed, so even if coaches are coaching other games they're going to be able to go back and watch tape and see what I can do. That's in God's hands. Let's see what the future holds. I believe that he has me here in Washington, D.C. for a reason and I think this is a great place to be right now. It may be the best thing that ever happened to me to start my career in Washington, D.C. We'll see what happens, but obviously if I play well it opens up doors elsewhere. If I don't play well, it doesn't."

On asserting himself more:

"I think I've asserted myself more just as a result of no longer being a rookie. I'm not the low man on the totem pole. This is now my second time around the block, so it gives confidence regardless if I was with the ones or the twos. It's very important as a quarterback to have confidence and when you're with the ones to be able to play at a high level and step in and get the job done."

On if he had thoughts of being somewhere else this offseason:

"I really didn't. I felt that, with a four-year contract, it's just too early. I really felt like I'd be back. I wanted to be back. I think this is a great place to be right now in this system with what we're doing. Coming back off of a division championship, this is an exciting time and an exciting place to be. I'm very glad that I'm back with the Redskins."

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