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LENNOXVILLE — When Anthony Calvillo was the Alouettes’ quarterback and played poorly in an exhibition game — despite his records and statistics, he was a notoriously slow starter — there was no great concern.

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Calvillo, understandably, had earned a certain amount of cachet over the years. Jonathan Crompton, however, has no similar luxury, it seems, in the eyes of head coach Tom Higgins. While Crompton is expected to be the starting quarterback when the regular-season begins next week, there’s no guarantee he’ll hold that role indefinitely.

And, following a poor performance last Saturday in Montreal’s opening exhibition game against Ottawa, Higgins admitted a similar outing Thursday night (7:30 p.m., TSN2, RDS, TSN Radio-690) against the Toronto Argonauts at Molson Stadium, could affect the coaching staff’s decision on a starter a week from now, when the games count.

“You go with the guy who got you here. He (Crompton) finished 8-2. We did as a team, but he was the quarterback. Right now, he’s our quarterback. I hope he’s not feeling pressure — but maybe it’s not a bad thing,” Higgins said Wednesday morning, after the Als broke camp with a walk-through at Bishop’s University.