FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Rex Ryan couldn't figure it out. On the first morning of rookie minicamp Friday, the offense was ahead of the defense, despite having to digest more plays.

The reason soon became obvious. He wears No. 6.

"There were no meetings (Thursday), but everybody got a playbook," Ryan said. "Some guy who we have on offense got the entire offense together (Thursday night) and installed the base offense. I guess you can figure out who that was."

Obviously, Mark Sanchez wasn't exaggerating when he spoke about how much he wanted to get on the field, and how quickly he wanted to begin learning his new playbook.

"That's the kind of young man we brought in here," Ryan said.

Sanchez's initiative was impressive in his first NFL practice, as was his right arm.

The fifth overall draft pick showed plenty of zip on his passes in two practices in the climate-controlled bubble, and also demonstrated he could throw the most difficult sideline patterns with enough mustard to get them past the secondary.

"It's difficult when you first come in," said Sanchez after his first NFL practice. "It's a new system so you want to just try and speak the language as soon as possible. I'm trying to get all of the terminology down. Me being tough on myself, I want it right every time and it's not always that way, especially not on the first weekend. But it has been a very successful first day. It was a good experience."

He considered the morning practice a success because the offense didn't commit any turnovers.

"That's huge," he said. "That's a big win for a quarterback any day. I felt like we did not have any fumbles or false-start penalties. Everyone was in tune and in sync. We moved the ball pretty well and hit some big completions. There are always a couple of plays you want back, but we'll watch film and correct it."

Sanchez will fly back to California after Sunday's final day of rookie minicamp, and has one more final exam before graduation ceremonies at Southern California on May 15. He will be back in time for the start of the second week of organized team activities on May 18, and will then begin competing with Kellen Clemens for the starting quarterback position.

"The cream will rise to the top and I truly believe that," Ryan said of the competition. "I have an opinion on how it's going to go, but I'm not going to share it with you. Obviously I would be lying if I said I didn't. ... You have to earn the job. Whether it's Kellen being the quarterback or Mark being the quarterback, you have to earn the job."

And Ryan noted he believed last spring, before training camp, that then-rookie Joe Flacco was the best choice for Baltimore's quarterback. Flacco got the job because Kyle Boller (shoulder) and Troy Smith (tonsillitis) weren't ready for opening day. Flacco led the Ravens to the AFC title game.

"It just so happened we had no choice but to end up making that decision," Ryan said. "It ended up being a great decision. Clearly, (Flacco) was the best quarterback and it was obvious to everybody. Up until last year there was a stigma that you don't win with a rookie quarterback. I think we proved that wrong."

"That's still a ways away," Sanchez said of potentially starting. "Of course I'm expecting to play. That's what you want to do. You don't grow up dreaming to be a backup. That's just the way I feel about it. I'm going to compete like heck and we will see what happens."

This much is certain — he won't be outworked.