Paycheques aside, Cierre Wood’s latest football stop isn’t much different than his last.

Unless a little border check leads you to believe Buffalo and Hamilton don’t share common traits.

In between, Wood was worlds away from this blue-collar area known for its hard-nosed, cold-weather football.

Las Vegas is the city Wood, a 26-year-old California native, calls home these days, and not for the reasons you might expect.

Affordable housing prices and good weather drew the former Notre Dame running back to Sin City three years ago, a place he has since found has a lot in common with his football career.

“I like to categorize myself as a hustler,” Wood said Wednesday, the second day of Tiger-Cats mini-camp inside Tim Hortons Field. “A true hustler has the ability to lose it all and get it all back.”

On Oct. 11, 2015, Wood lost it all, tearing his ACL just two weeks after being promoted from the Buffalo Bills’ practice squad to the active roster.

Now, he’s trying to earn it all back up the road in Hamilton, in the CFL, in a setting he’s not at all used to, despite the obvious similarities between his last two pro football homes.

That same personal ambition is one he takes with him out onto the field each and every day, especially as he battles for mini-camp time and shine against fellow first-time CFL tailbacks Jeremy Stewart and Alex Green, who both come to Canada with significant NFL experience, as well.

“A hustler’s mentality is no matter what happens — bad play, good play, touchdown, fumble — you’re still going to come out and do the exact same thing," Wood said. “We could be down 20-0, it doesn’t matter. We’re going to score, come back, do everything that we need to be a hustler and get it all back.”

With the Ticats usually de-emphasizing the running game in favour of a short passing attack, in addition to the presence of veteran tailback C.J. Gable, a Kent Austin favourite, Wood has work to do.

“My goal is just to make plays,” the 5-foot-11, 226-pounder said. “I don’t care if I’m 12th on the depth chart, when Cierre Wood goes up, Cierre Wood’s going to make a play. It’s always been that way and it always will be until I decide to stop playing or God tells me it’s time to stop playing.”

While Wood was doing everything he needed to in a rehab sense to make it back to this point, he also had to make ends meet.

He did that by breaking up fights between angry shoppers as a security guard at a Vegas grocery store.

“It was the worst thing ever,” Wood said of the job at Smith’s, where he lasted about seven months before throwing in the towel and signing with the Ticats. “These two ladies got into a fight on my first day. My first two days, two fights.”

Once Wood figured out he’d much rather run between two tackles than two swinging purses, the humbling job helped ramp up his rehab workouts, giving them even more purpose.

Wood believes he’s improved as a player since limping off the turf with the Bills close to 19 months ago.

You could say he’s doubled down.

“I run with more power, I’m faster, I’m slimmed down, I’m more agile,” Wood claims. “Take what I’ve done before in my career and double it. Double everything.”

If he hasn’t already been given one, Wood’s game might earn him a Vegas-themed nickname if things go according to plan with the Ticats.

“It’s flashy, it’s risky, it’s all that,” Wood said. “If you’re going to bet $100 on black, you better have God on your side and a little bit of luck. Or you could think about it like this: I’m going to hit no matter what.”

The odds may be long, but it’s a bet the Ticats might be willing to make.

smitchell@postmedia.com

CIERRE WOOD

School: Notre Dame

Age: 26

Height/weight: 5-foot-11, 226 pounds

NFL stops: Houston (2013), New England (2013), Baltimore (2014), Seattle (2014), Buffalo (2015)

Stats: 5 carries, 12 yards; 1 reception, minus-6 yards

JEREMY STEWART

School: Stanford

Age: 28

Height/weight: 5-foot-11, 215 pounds

NFL stops: Philadelphia (2012), New York Jets (2012), Oakland (2012-13), Denver (2014-15)

Stats: 33 carries, 125 yards, 1 touchdown; 10 receptions, 68 yards

ALEX GREEN

School: Hawaii

Age: 28

Height/weight: 6-foot-2, 220 pounds

NFL stops: Green Bay (2011-12), New York Jets (2013-14)

Stats: 149 carries, 510 yards; 21 receptions, 139 yards