Settling in at controls

Paul Peterson says he doesn't feel any different now that he has been entrusted as Boston College's starting quarterback for tomorrow night's opener at Ball State. He says he is still the same guy who replaced injured starter Quinton Porter in the 10th game last season and guided the Eagles to three consecutive victories, including a 35-21 romp of Colorado State in the Diamond Walnut San Francisco Bowl.

"I haven't noticed anything different," confirmed BC coach Tom O'Brien. "He's always been a confident kid. I don't think he's changed a bit."

But, in many respects, Peterson is different. At least he is to his BC teammates.

"To start off, he's married," said junior cornerback Will Blackmon, noting the biggest difference between BC's 24-year-old quarterback and the rest of the team. "He's very mature. He's a grown man, you know? That's probably the main thing. He's got a lot of responsibility with his household and I think that carries over onto the football field as well, I feel."

"He's very trustworthy. You know he's done a lot of things in his life, like his [Mormon] missionary work [in Nicaragua from August 1999 to July 2001], but I think he's a great guy. A great leader, offensively."

Apprised of Blackmon's description of him as "trustworthy," Peterson laughed and said, "That's a great character trait. It's a great compliment."

Born in Allentown, Pa., the seventh of 10 kids, Peterson, whose older brother Charlie was a former quarterback at Brigham Young, made his way east last year after transferring from Snow Junior College in Ephraim, Utah. With no promises of a starting job, Peterson and his wife, Meaghan, packed all their belongings into their 1994 Nissan Sentra and drove cross-country to Chestnut Hill.

In his first preseason camp, Peterson, a 6-foot, 184-pounder, displayed an uncanny playmaking ability reminiscent of Doug Flutie. "It's a tremendous quality to have in a quarterback and it's the thing a defense fears most: a quarterback who can make something out of nothing," O'Brien said.

Peterson, however, wound up beginning the 2003 season as Porter's backup.

"Last year, I really didn't feel I had anything to lose," said Peterson, who threw for 2,982 yards and 35 touchdowns in 10 games at Snow in 2002. "I still felt like I was proving myself to my teammates and to the coaches. So every chance I had on the field . . ."

Peterson paused, wrestling with the words to describe what he went through last season. "Sometimes I was going too fast for my britches in trying to do too much," he said, pointing out how his impressive debut against Wake Forest (he completed his first TD on his second attempt) was offset by an interception he threw against Miami that was returned for a 67-yard score.

"I don't have to look behind my shoulder any more and, hopefully, I'll have the confidence of everyone on offense to be able to perform," he said.

Peterson earned the trust of his teammates, though, when he was pressed into service against West Virginia after Porter suffered a nasty gash on his right throwing hand on BC's first offensive series.

"I don't think he really missed a beat," said senior wideout Grant Adams, who caught 11 passes for 157 yards and a pair of TDs (both coming in a 34-27 victory at No. 12 Virginia Tech) in Peterson's 3-0 stint as the starter. "He drove us down the field a bunch of times late in the game when we needed to put some points on the board."

Peterson wound up completing 22 of 41 passes for 231 yards and 3 TDs, the second of which was a dazzling 11-yard score to Sean Ryan that converted a fourth-and-14 situation he inherited after he was reinserted into the game for a woozy Porter.

"I think when you come into the situation he did against West Virginia and how he won the last three games of the year," O'Brien said, "I think he's earned their trust -- and proven it on the football field with solid leadership, solid decision-making, and playing good football."

It was those traits that enabled Peterson to win the job over Porter, who will redshirt this season and preserve a final year of eligibility when BC makes the jump to the Atlantic Coast Conference next season.

Peterson will be backed up by redshirt freshman Matt Ryan. However, if Porter had been there breathing down his neck, "It would've been uncomfortable," Peterson admitted.

"But I'm glad Coach made the decision he did because it's going to benefit the team both ways," said Peterson, who passed for 1,124 yards and 10 TDs last season, including 931 yards and 9 TDs in his last four games. "Quinton's going to come in next year and he's going to tear it up in the ACC [Atlantic Coast Conference] next year. He's a phenomenal quarterback."

With the Eagles predicted to contend for a Big East title -- and a Bowl Championship Series berth -- Peterson said he doesn't feel any added burden or pressure to carry his team. He just plans on being himself. "If you put pressure on yourself, I don't think you're going to be able to perform the best that you can," he said. "I know my responsibilities as a quarterback and I'm just going to perform to the best of my ability."