ASHBURN, Va. -- The sun was sweltering, with the temperature soaring above 90 degrees and the humidity over 90 percent, and Redskins rookie quarterback Dwayne Haskins was wearing a full long-sleeve hoodie under his jersey. And despite a two-hour practice that featured Haskins running with the ball more than anyone probably expected, the young man never broke a sweat, as best I could tell, walking off the field to sign autographs after showing no signs of the suffocating conditions.

Haskins, the 15th overall pick in this year's NFL Draft, is a cool customer. He is confident, assured and willing to casually pepper his speech with a reference to his desire to wear a mustard jacket in Canton, Ohio one day without thinking twice about it. He certainly looked like a raw rookie at times during Wednesday's organized team activity practice -- having trouble calling out all of the proper formations and adjustments at times; throwing an end-zone interception at the end of the session -- but he also exuded a sense that he was wired to handle being in the middle of a potential quarterback competition just weeks into his pro career. He looks like he belongs, even when making a rookie mistake, and has the ability, charisma and personality to make Washington's training camp particularly interesting, while becoming a potential breakout star on "Hard Knocks," should this team end up on the show as many in these parts are bracing for.  

There will be no shortage of opining about Haskins vs. journeyman Case Keenum come this summer, when the team assembles in Richmond for training camp, and every pass this 22-year-old throws will be dissected and evaluated. Then again, that was the case a year ago in the cauldron that is Columbus, as Haskins burst on the scene to win the starting job for the Buckeyes and go on to a 50-touchdown season that catapulted him not only onto the national radar, but also into the top half of the first round of the NFL Draft. Haskins is adamant that his focus is solely on the long view -- not getting caught up in how soon he starts for Washington -- but, having covered the Washington beat for five years in a former life, I can assure that screams for him to take over will begin from a long-starved fan base as soon as he makes his first highlight throw in camp.

"I just know I need to get better everyday for there even to be a competition, and at this point it's just me working hard, and doing as much extra work as I can to get ready," Haskins told me after an up-and-down practice.

The whispers began back at the combine, when it became clear throughout NFL circles that Washington owner Dan Snyder and his brass were tantalized by all Haskins had to offer and were eyeing him in the first round. Could he finally be the quarterback to succeed here, and do what so many others deemed to be that cornerstone passer -- Heath Shuler, Patrick Ramsey, Robert Griffin III, to name just a few -- failed to accomplish? The fact that Haskins was mentored by a former member of the franchise -- Shawn Springs -- and moved from New Jersey to Maryland, attending the same school as Snyder's kids -- and wrote an article in the Bullis High School newspaper years ago proclaiming his intent to one day break the curse, just makes this plot all the more juicy.

Haskins understands his place on the current pecking order, and will carry himself with class, and defer as required. He knows he is only just beginning to digest what goes into the modern pro passing game, and when I asked what he needs to focus on between now and the start of training camp, he was unequivocal.

"Everything, everything," he said moving down a line of military personnel who were seeking his autograph. "I want to be great, so I'm never going to be content with where I'm at. I want to wear a gold jacket one day and I know how hard that is to achieve. So I need to constantly work on everything -- how I am in the huddle, how I call plays, how I train and how I throw."

As he was finishing his answer an elderly gentleman asked Haskins to sign a full-sized Redskins helmet, making an unusual request that Haskins casually took in stride. "Could you sign, 'Simba will be king,' under your name?" the man asked, a nod to "The Lion King," and Haskins' boyhood nickname. Haskins eagerly obliged the request -- and then did so again when the same individual re-appeared back at the railing with what one could only assume was a different helmet. The zaniness, quirkiness, intense pressure and decades-old burden of expectations that comes from being ordained as the next great Washington QB -- Haskins just may be impervious to it all.

This, of course, is the stuff talk show hosts in this region dream about. The endless debate about how long Haskins should sit and the relative merits of playing a 30-something, many-times castoff now on his sixth team will be the soundtrack to the summer for this fan base. The fact that all of this comes just one year after Washington made a bold trade for Alex Smith, then feted him with a massive contract to be the QB savior only to watch him suffer a career-threatening gruesome leg injury is lost on no one, and would be enough to make some young quarterbacks cower. Haskins is doing anything but that.

His natural arm strength and accuracy were on display in individual drills, eliciting no shortage of commentary from coach Jay Gruden, who works very closely with the QBs along with senior offensive assistant Matt Cavanaugh and offensive coordinator Kevin O'Connell. "Oh yeah!" Gruden yelled after one strike early in practice, and, "Nice shot, nice shot," after another. But once team drills began it was nearly impossible for either Keenum -- with what was being dubbed the starting offense but lacking much of Washington's powerful offensive line -- or Haskins to move the ball downfield much.

"The defense is pretty good right now," Gruden said, mentioning those not present on the offense and the discrepancy in talent and experience between the units right now. "The defense if at full strength."

(Worth noting that Wednesday's star on defense was rookie seventh-round pick Jimmy Moreland, a corner out of James Madison who has three picks and has been a ballhawk throughout these spring practices; he was the culprit on Haskins' practice-ending pick).

On several instances one of Washington's coaches has to yell out, "Check the huddle," and reset the offense with Haskins under center as he continues to learn all of the intricacies himself.

"Dwayne is still processing everything," Gruden said. "Everything is coming in fast and he's trying to process the formations and the run concepts and the protections. So it's all new to him in terms of transferring what I say or what Coach O'Connell says to the huddle. There might be one key word that he messes up, which is a critical -- 14 instead of 15 -- that's a big word. So we have to just clean him up a little bit and slow him up and be patient. But it will come for him, and it will come soon."

For what it's worth, Haskins -- a traditional pocket passer in college -- was on the go quite a bit Wednesday, often running with the ball downfield on what seemed to be designed looks. "Whatever they want to do, I'm ready to do," he said when asked about the running, a little surprised himself to be toting the ball that much.

Haskins seems eager for as much guidance and information as possible and was able to shake off his missteps. He said he is all ball this spring, staying late at the facility and limited any social activities. "I'm spending all of my time on football," Haskins said. "All of my time. I'll be here until late and by the time I get home I'm just watching film with my girlfriend and my dog. That's it."

It seems to be working.

"He's good, man," veteran receiver Josh Doctson said of Haskins. "He's a quick learner, I would say. I don't know what they did over there at Ohio State, but they were doing something right, because he's come in here and he doesn't really hesitate. He's real quick and he makes decisions quick, and he throws with a lot of accuracy."

For now, Gruden is keeping the reps between Keenum and Haskins equal -- in a normal 16-play practice script they will each get seven, with Josh Woodrum settling for one or two snaps -- albeit Keenum was with the presumptive starter for now. Surely, Haskins will get his chance to work with them this summer, and what he does with those throws and in the preseason games could rekindle the fervor among a storied fan population that has been beaten into ambivalence by the continued foibles of the Snyder administration.

Haskins says he refuses to get caught up in whatever his opening day status becomes, and appears mature enough to handle however it goes. "Tom Brady didn't start Week 1, and Aaron Rodgers didn't start Week 1, and those are Hall of Fame quarterbacks," Haskins said. "So I'm just going to do the best I can to be ready for whenever they need me to be ready."

Neither Brady nor Rodgers were picked in the top 15 picks either, and neither came off a 50-touchdown season in college. They also had a Pro Bowl (Drew Bledsoe) and Hall of Fame (Brett Favre) quarterback ahead of them on the depth chart. This situation is quite different. Things are always at least a little askew in Washington, and Haskins is going to be at the center of it all in Richmond. With a few hundred NFL Films cameras possibly along for the ride.