Quinton George Porter (born December 28, 1982) is a former American professional
gridiron football quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
. He was on the
practice squad for the
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...
of the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL). He was originally signed by the
Houston Texans as an
undrafted free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...
in 2006. He played college football at
Boston College. Porter has also been a player with the
Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL.
Early life
Porter grew up in
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropo ...
. He was the youngest of the five children of Georgia and Michael Porter. He was a football star at
King Middle School, then
Portland High School. At Portland High, Porter also played
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
and was a member of the
National Honor Society.
In 2000, his senior year in high school, he won separate honors as Maine's top high school athlete in awards sponsored by
USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...
and
Gatorade. He led Portland High to 10-1 record in football while throwing for 1,600 yards and 18 touchdowns. He gained all-state and all-conference honors.
College career
Porter accepted a scholarship from
Boston College and saw action as a backup in 2001 and 2002. He was the starting quarterback his junior year (2003) for all but the last three games after a hand injury.
He was redshirted in 2004, making 2005 his senior year.
Porter was named starting quarterback at the start of the 2005 season. He started seven games and was named
Atlantic Coast Conference player of the week for his performance in BC's 28-17 win over
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
. Leading up to the October 27 game against
Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also has educational facilities in six re ...
, the Eagles under Porter were ranked 13th in the country.
However, after a 30-10 loss to 3rd ranked Virginia Tech (led by quarterback
Marcus Vick
Marcus Deon Vick (born March 20, 1984) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at Virginia Tech, following the career path of his older brother Michael. However, several legal infractions and unsportsmanlike play le ...
, brother of
Michael Vick
Michael Dwayne Vick (born June 26, 1980) is a former American football quarterback. Regarded as having transformed the quarterback position with his rushing abilities, he is the NFL leader in quarterback rushing yards and was the league's firs ...
), and a loss to North Carolina, a quarterback controversy erupted as BC coach
Tom O'Brien announced that he would start Porter's backup,
Matt Ryan, in the upcoming game against
North Carolina State University. Ryan began starting, and led the Eagles to a victory over
Boise State in the
MPC Computers Bowl
The Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, previously the Humanitarian Bowl (1997–2003, 2007–2010) and the MPC Computers Bowl (2004–2006), is an National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA-sanctioned post-season college football bowl game that has be ...
.
In February 2003 Porter experienced a personal tragedy when his father died unexpectedly of a
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...
. Michael Porter, a huge supporter of his son, had attended every Boston College game, home and away.
Professional career
Houston Texans
Porter signed with the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent May 8, 2006. He was soon moved to the practice squad where he stayed until early December. He was then signed to the active roster for the remainder of his rookie season. He was the team's third-string quarterback for much of the 2006 season. He saw no regular season playing time. The Texans sent him to play for the
Cologne Centurions of
NFL Europe in the spring of 2007. He was released by the Texans August 26, 2007.
Carolina Panthers
After a
Jake Delhomme
Jake Christopher Delhomme (; born January 10, 1975) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL). Delhomme played college football at Louisiana, then known as the University of Southwestern Louisiana ...
injury that left
David Carr and
Matt Moore as the only healthy quarterbacks on the Panthers' roster. Porter was signed to Carolina's practice squad on September 26, 2007.
Hamilton Tiger Cats
On May 14, 2008, the Hamilton Tiger Cats announced the signing of Porter. He beat out
Timmy Chang
Timothy Kealii'okaaina Awa Chang (born October 9, 1981) is an American football coach and former quarterback who is currently the head coach of the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors. During his playing career at Hawaii, he set several major college footbal ...
in the preseason to become the Ti-Cats third-string quarterback. He moved up to the second string on July 25 due to an injury to
Casey Printers
Casey J. Printers (born May 16, 1981) is a former professional American football, Canadian football and indoor football quarterback. Printers spent most of his professional career with the BC Lions in the Canadian Football League, and also played ...
. He was moved up to the second string again for the September 12 game by new head coach
Marcel Bellefeuille
Marcel Bellefeuille (born March 19, 1966) is a Canadian football coach who is the head coach of the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees and the wide receivers coach for the Philadelphia Stars of the United States Football League (USFL). He originally ...
. Porter made his first start on September 27, 2008. Porter was sacked ten times by the
BC Lions
The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place.
The Lions played their first seas ...
defense and went 14-of-27 for 144 yards with two interceptions in a 40-10 loss. His performance in his second start, 27-of-32 passing for 429 yards and five touchdowns including running himself for 42 yards on six carries, earned him the CFL's Offensive Player of the Week honours as well as the team's unexpected victory over the East's first place team, the
Montreal Alouettes
The Montreal Alouettes (French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the East Division of the Canad ...
, and solidified his position as the number one quarterback on the Ti-Cats roster until the emergence of
Kevin Glenn
Kevin Glenn, Jr. (born June 12, 1979) is a former American professional Canadian football quarterback. He was originally signed by the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL) as an undrafted free agent in 2001. He played co ...
. For the 2010 and 2011 seasons, Porter was second string, backing up Glenn, in addition to coming in for short yardage situations. In 2011, Porter led the CFL in rushing touchdowns with nine. On January 15, 2013, the Tiger-Cats released Porter as per his request.
Montreal Alouettes
On January 21, 2013, Porter signed a 3-year deal with the
Montreal Alouettes
The Montreal Alouettes (French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the East Division of the Canad ...
of the
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
. In the 2013 preseason, Porter completed 10 of 26 passing attempts for 191 yards with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. He was released on June 21, 2013.
2019
In 2019, Porter joined Pico - Get Personal as Vice President for North America.
References
External links
Montreal Alouettes bioQuinton Porter to join Pico - Get Personal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Porter, Quinton
1982 births
Living people
American football quarterbacks
Boston College Eagles football players
Carolina Panthers players
Cologne Centurions (NFL Europe) players
Hamilton Tiger-Cats players
Houston Texans players
Sportspeople from Portland, Maine
Players of American football from Maine
Portland High School (Maine) alumni
Canadian football quarterbacks