ALAMEDA -- For a team whose offensive coordinator was running a bed and breakfast a year ago, it's only fitting that one of its starting offensive linemen majored in hotel administration at Cornell.

It's Kevin Boothe's ability to hold off defenders, not run a hotel, that has earned him a likely starting spot for the Oakland Raiders on Sunday against the Cleveland Browns.

"All throughout training camp his performance level has been growing," coach Art Shell said.

"He's been really doing well. When he's in there, you know he's around because he's going to strike you. He has great feet, balance and things like that. You can see the things in the game that he did well. ... When he pulls, the guys know that when they're on the other side, that he's going to strike them and strike them hard."

Boothe relieved fellow rookie Paul McQuistan in the Raiders' 28-6 loss in Week 2 against Baltimore. He began working with the starters in practice during the bye week last week and is slated to start against the Browns on Sunday.

It's quite a quick progression for a guy who was blocking players from Harvard and Yale just a year ago when he earned all-Ivy League honors at Cornell.

"Honestly, I compare it to going from high school to college, and then going from college to the pros," Boothe said. "It's like the next step. It hasn't been too bad. Everything is more football-oriented. Obviously, I don't have to worry about schoolwork or anything like that. But it's just a matter of learning what the coaches are teaching and just trying to apply it out there on the field."

But learning what you're supposed to do and actually doing it against NFL-level competition are different things. Boothe will get some time Sunday trying to block former Raider Ted Washington, a 6-foot-5, 365-pound run stopper at nose tackle.

Boothe was almost that heavy when he got to Cornell, but has lost 45 pounds since then and is at his target weight of 320 pounds right now. Most of the players he faced in college last year weighed 250 pounds or less.

"At Cornell, I was bigger for the most part than everybody I went against," he said. "I never faced anyone like that. It should be fun."

The Raiders have struggled mightily through two games on the offensive line under coordinator Tom Walsh, who has been out of the NFL for more than a decade and was running a bed and breakfast in Idaho when Shell hired him earlier this year.

The Raiders have allowed 15 sacks and are averaging just 2.7 yards per carry while failing to score a touchdown against Baltimore and San Diego. That led in part to McQuistan's benching and the insertion of Boothe, who said the playing time against the Ravens will be a big help for him this week against the Browns.

"It was great to get the extensive playing time out of the way," he said. "I played a few snaps the week before. It was good to get in there and kind of get the jitters out. Once I got out there, football's football."

Coming from a small school that didn't face topflight competition is not a slight in Shell's mind. That might be because he came out of Maryland-Eastern Shore to become a Hall of Fame tackle for the Raiders during his playing career.

"It's not so much the school as it is, how smart he is," Shell said. "He's a smart kid. You don't have to tell him but one time, and he grasps it real well. He has the heart and he has the tenacity to play the game."

Boothe has also gained the confidence of his teammates with his hard work in practice and his brief performances in the two games.

"I think he's going to do well in there," center Jake Grove said. "I think he kind of plays guard like a tackle. He's got a lot of range. He's got some mass. I'm interested to see him play. I thought he did well when he came in last week and I'm excited about it."