He knows the drills and the regimen of preseason football camp that stretch your mind along with your body. He's felt the exhaustion and the satisfaction.

Ask Quinton Porter if this preseason is different from his years at Boston College and his brief stints with the Houston Texans of the NFL and the Cologne Centurions of NFL Europe, and he starts to say no. Then he picks up on the flip side of the question.

For one of the few times since he left Portland High, he's the quarterback who's feeling the love. As opposed to proving himself again to the doubters. He's the man, as one fan of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats posted on a media Web site. The Ti-Cats haven't made the Canadian Football League playoffs in four seasons, but Quinton Porter will try to lead them there this year.

Another fan compared Porter to Tom Clements, the former Notre Dame quarterback who played 12 seasons in the CFL, beginning in 1975. Clements led two teams to Grey Cup titles.

Porter is aware of the expectations. He's lived with them for many of his 26 years. "It's a little like BC when I was coming in as the anointed one."

This is different. Disappointments have matured Porter in a way successes never could.

He was named Boston College's starting quarterback for the 2005 season, its first year in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The team won and was soon ranked 13th in the country. Then came stumbles and losses, and Porter lost his starting job to Matt Ryan, who finished a very good rookie season with the Atlanta Falcons last fall.

No team chose Porter in the NFL draft and he signed as a free agent with Houston. He made the practice squad and was moved to the active roster in December. He never played.

He had early success in Europe and then frustration over playing time. The Texans released him in August 2007. There was a short stint on the Carolina Panthers' practice squad. He considered getting on with the rest of his life, finishing up his MBA at Boston College and moving into the world of finance.

Last year Hamilton called his agent. Would Porter come to a tryout?

"The night before the tryout I had one of those dreams where your life is swirling around. I always wanted to be a football player. When I woke up I realized I still wanted to play. I had a great workout, one of my best."

He climbed the depth chart on a losing team. He was named the starting quarterback late in the season. Against Montreal, the East Division power, Porter completed 27 of 32 passes for 429 yards and five touchdowns. He rushed for 42 yards on six carries.

Hamilton won.

Suddenly, CFL-watchers were hailing Porter as the league's new star.

"It's dangerous to believe in perceptions. I'm trying not to buy into them. I'm capable of another game like that but I'd be deluding myself if I thought I could do that in every game. I'm just a part of the team."

He played in five games last season, completing 67 percent of his passes for 10 touchdowns. He ran the ball 33 times for an average carry of 6.2 yards, which surprised those who looked at his 6-foot-5, 228-pound frame and thought he had the mobility of Tom Brady or Drew Bledsoe.

During the off-season, Porter took two classes at Boston College, working toward his MBA. He went to Cape Town, South Africa, for two weeks with his girlfriend. He started to practice yoga. He continued to play the guitar, which he taught himself.

The Tiger-Cats play their first exhibition game Wednesday. The eight-team CFL opens its season July 1.

Porter grasped much of the creativity that comes with playing quarterback in the CFL with its three-down cycle. The Canadian playing field is larger, too.

"I'm getting more comfortable. We're right on track," said Porter said Friday. "I wake up each morning and slow myself down. Before, I tried to rush everything."

Last year he was trying to make the team. This year he's trying to...