Now that Chris Ackie has graduated from Wilfrid Laurier University, he's spending more time than ever in the classroom.

Endless team meetings and film sessions - and a thick playbook he hasn't even begun to make a dent in - have been the defining characteristics of his first couple of weeks with the CFL's Montreal Alouettes.

Ackie, the Cambridge native who this spring became the Golden Hawks' highest CFL draft selection in 43 years, is up to his eyeballs in all things football as the Als prepare for Thursday night's regular-season opener against the Ottawa Redblacks (TSN1, 7:30 p.m.).

Even though the draft's fourth overall pick won't be in Montreal's Week 1 lineup due to a nagging hamstring injury, he'll be on the sidelines come game time, soaking it all in.

"The biggest adjustment is the speed. The players are faster and very smart," said the former Preston Panther, whose parents emigrated from Grenada.

In the classroom and on the football field, the six-foot-two, 205-pound Ackie has long been a star pupil.

At Laurier the 23-year-old graduated on time after four years with a degree in communications, and was a fixture in the team's film room - studying formations and opponents' tendencies.

His attention to detail has set him up nicely for a career playing pro football - and beyond.

"You have to get to know more than just your position here," Ackie, an early camp holdout until he got his contract sorted out, said on the phone this week. "(During team meetings) they have you draw up everyone's positions of a play on the whiteboard.

"They call that the hot seat."

Pro football - even for the most gifted, dedicated athlete - is a little like conducting one's life in a pressure cooker surrounded by flames, his former coach at Laurier admitted.

"That's what makes Chris such a great story," explained Golden Hawks head coach Michael Faulds.

"Chris is a bright young guy. Even if he goes on to have a 10-year-career in football, he'll still be a young man when he retires from the game - ready for the next phase of his life."

Ackie - deployed throughout Montreal's defensive secondary in training camp - is expected to make an immediate impact with the Alouettes on special teams this season.

Here's a look at the some of the folks with local connections with CFL teams this season:

B.C. Lions

Former Laurier defensive lineman Ese Mrabure-Ajufo, snapped up fifth overall by the Lions in this spring's draft, recently signed a deal earning him $89,000 this season.

WLU grad and CFL fixture Chuck McMann is the Lions special teams co-ordinator and running backs coach.

Former Waterloo Warriors head coach Joe Paopao left his assistant coaching job with the Lions this past spring to become the offensive co-ordinator at B.C.'s Simon Fraser University.

Calgary Stampeders

Stamps linebacker Karl McCartney, of Nassau, Bahamas, transferred to Saint Mary's University in Halifax from Laurier in 2007. He was once ranked the No. 3 swimmer in the Caribbean for his age group and is a former member of the Bahamian national rugby team.

Edmonton Eskimos

Former Wilfrid Laurier receiver Shamawd Chambers' fourth season with the Esks begins with a stint on the team's six-game injured list. He was a 12-game starter last season, making 30 catches for 366 yards and one TD until a knee injury cut his season short.

Assistant coach Craig Davoren spent a season with Waterloo Region's Tri-City Outlaws in 2011, winning a Canadian senior football title as a linebacker.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Forest Heights Collegiate grad and defensive back Michael Daly, and Resurrection alum and linebacker Beau Landry are on the Tabbies' roster. So too is one-time Golden Hawk defensive back Courtney Stephen, who left Laurier for Northern Illinois before Hamilton snapped him up eighth overall in the 2012 draft.

Former UW head coach Dennis McPhee returned to the Ticats for his third tour of duty in 2013 following five stormy years with the Warriors.

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Erstwhile Golden Hawk Corey Grant, now Hamilton's running backs and offensive quality control coach, enjoyed an 11-year playing career in the CFL.

Montreal Alouettes

Ex-Golden Hawk defensive back Chris Ackie turned the CFL combine on its head with his off-the-chart testing numbers. He attended a spring mini camp with the NFL's New York Giants before the Alouettes made him the first defensive player taken in the CFL draft, at fourth overall.

Laurier's undrafted offensive/defensive lineman Asante Mizan was invited as a free agent to Alouettes' training camp before he was released. He is looking to land with another CFL team or he may return to Laurier for his fifth and final university season.Ottawa Redblacks

Versatile defensive standout Justin Phillips, in his ninth CFL campaign, is the owner of a Grey Cup ring (Calgary, 2008) and a Vanier Cup ring (Laurier, 2005). He opens the 2015 season on Ottawa's six-game injured list.

Former Canadian university rookie of the year Jordan Verdone, who played linebacker at the University of Waterloo before he transferred to the University of Calgary, is now a converted fullback with the Redblacks, seeing time on special teams.

Another former Warrior, defensive back Hugo Lopez, who also transferred out during UW's steroid scandal in 2010, is on the CFL team's one-game injured list.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

Chris Best, a former offensive lineman at UW and Saskatchewan's first-round pick in 2005, continues his stellar career with the Green Riders.

The Riders released former Waterloo Warrior and ex-Laurier Golden Hawks offensive lineman Matt Vonk in training camp.

Toronto Argonauts

Ex-Golden Hawk defensive back Shane Herbert is on the Boatmen's practice roster.

The Argonauts released reigning Ontario University Athletics MVP running back Dillon Campbell recently, after selecting him 39th overall. Campbell could return to Laurier this fall if he doesn't find work with another CFL team.

Former Golden Hawk tailback Anton Bennett has moved from the field into the team's offices and is now the Argos' manager of communications and digital media.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Tommy Griffiths, a former offensive lineman at Laurier, signed with the Bombers as a free agent this winter. He's on the squad's practice roster.

Greg Knox, a long-ago safety at Laurier, the former defensive co-ordinator at McMaster, and a two-time Grey Cup winner with Calgary, is the new linebackers' coach in Winnipeg.