During the Big East's Media Day last month at Giants Stadium, Boston College coach Tom O'Brien was asked if he was prepared to divulge his starting quarterback. "No, not right yet," O'Brien said, "but his last name will start with a `P.'"
As it turns out, that "P" stands for Porter.
O'Brien Sunday tabbed Quinton Porter as the starter for Saturday's opener against Wake Forest at 1pm in Alumni Stadium. Porter, a 6-foot-5-inch, 224-pound junior from Portland, Maine, who spent the last two seasons as Brian St. Pierre's understudy, earned the starting nod over Paul Peterson, a 6-foot, 184-pound junior college transfer from Snow College in Ephraim, Utah, who created some buzz in camp after he completed 20 of 26 passes for 236 yards and a pair of touchdowns in an intrasquad scrimmage a week ago.
"He had a huge advantage being here for two years," O'Brien said of Porter. "One of the biggest disadvantages Peterson had was his grasp of the offense. Quinton had a much better grasp of what we were doing and where we were going and so that was a huge advantage for him going into this season. He used it to his advantage and it worked well. And, as I said, right now I think he gives us the best chance to win the football game."
It came as welcome news for Porter, who has dealt with quite a bit of adversity this year. Porter witnessed his father, Michael, die of a heart attack Feb. 16 in front of an offcampus eatery. Then, as he struggled to cope with his loss, Porter broke his left collarbone midway through spring drills. Healed from that injury, Porter arrived in camp and sat out the first preseason scrimmage with a sore right knee.
"It's somewhat of a relief, but it's nothing that I didn't expect or didn't want to happen," said Porter, who will be the first Mainer to start at QB for the Eagles.
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