CALGARY - Darian Durant has rehearsed in his head what it will be like to play in his first Grey Cup.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback will start in his first CFL championship game Sunday when the Riders face the favoured Montreal Alouettes at McMahon Stadium (TSN, 6:30 ET).

In sharp contrast to Montreal counterpart Anthony Calvillo, who will appear in his seventh Grey Cup, Durant doesn't have previous experience to draw on. He's using his imagination instead.

"You have to visualize everything before it happens, you have to see the crowd, you have to see plays being made," Durant said Saturday. "If you get out here and you haven't visualized it already, it's just going to overwhelm you.

"The thing you have to do is let it all play all before and that way it's not surprising to you."

The 27-year-old from Florence, S.C., has come into his own this season. Saskatchewan's third-string quarterback two years ago when the Riders won the Grey Cup in Toronto, Durant has quickly developed into a pivot who can get his team to the big game.

A win Sunday and Durant's name will be celebrated in Saskatchewan alongside three other quarterbacks who won Grey Cups: Kerry Joseph, Kent Austin and Ron Lancaster.

"There's been a lot of doubting, a lot of obstacles I've had to climb," Durant said. "I'm thankful to be here and I'm going to let it all out on the field tomorrow."

Durant finished the regular season second to Calvillo in touchdown passes (24), second to Calgary's Henry Burris in quarterback rushing yards (501) and fourth in passing yards (4,348).

He showed his inexperience by throwing a league-leading 21 interceptions, but Durant didn't get picked off in either the West Division final or his final regular season game, both against Calgary. Durant threw for 204 yards and three touchdowns in a 27-17 victory in the West final.

"We've had a couple of pressure-packed games the past couple weeks. I'll just look back on those experiences and try to take everything I can from that and put it into this (next) game," Durant said.

The Roughriders can take all the credit for developing the five-foot-11, 214-pound Durant, as he's spent his four CFL seasons with the franchise. He doesn't have Calvillo's arm or experience, but he's become a multi-purpose quarterback who can get the job done.

"He's very difficult to bring down," Montreal head coach Marc Trestman says. "He's very strong in the upper body and in the legs.

"He has the ability to make unbelievable plays in the pocket and outside the pocket and on the run. He's a finisher.

"The quarterback has got to give your team hope, there's no doubt about it. I think Darian Durant will give that team hope on Sunday for a complete 60 minutes or whatever it takes to finish the game. It'll take everything we have defensively to stop him."

Durant, whose younger brother Justin is a starting linebacker for the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars, signed with Saskatchewan prior to the 2006 season. The University of North Carolina product attended the Baltimore Ravens training camp and spent time on the practice roster the previous year.

He remains the only quarterback in UNC history to throw for more than 8,000 career yards and the only player with more than 9,000 yards of total offence.

Durant was able to watch and learn what it takes to win a Grey Cup from Joseph in 2007. The quarterbacking position was unsettled the following season with Durant, Marcus Crandell, Michael Bishop and current No. 2 Steven Jyles all getting starts.

Roughrider head coach Ken Miller gave Durant the ball to start the season, but liberally inserted Jyles in early games to make sure there would be a reliable second option.

"Darian took that as a direct challenge," Miller said. "He really stood out in games after that. His growth has been, as you all know, he's just continued to grow, develop, mature, manage our game and make big plays.

"He's done things in this one year that sometimes takes other quarterbacks two, three, four or five years to accomplish. I feel like he is really one of the next marquee names in quarterbacks in this league."

Calvillo, the league's most outstanding player for the second straight year, is as marquee a CFL quarterback can get. Durant will look across McMahon Stadium on Sunday at a player he'd like to become.

"Everything he's done in this league has pretty much been successful," Durant said. "A sure Hall of Famer when he's done. Maybe the all-time leader in passing yardage."