Hart High graduate Kyle Boller is used to being under the microscope.

He's been battered and bruised by opponents and skeptics.

Now he is in training camp with the Oakland Raiders - his third team in three years - and is not only looking to silence his critics, he's looking to restart his career.

"Obviously I wish I've had a couple Super Bowls and stuff like that, but it's been good and I've learned a lot," he says of his seven years in the NFL. "I've met a lot of great people along the way, and I know that I have a lot of football left in me and that my career will end better than it started."

Pressure has never frightened Boller, who led the Hart Indians to a 12-2 record and CIF-Southern Section division title in 1998 before becoming a consistent starter at the University of California, Berkeley.

As a senior with the Indians, he passed for 4,838 yards and 59 touchdowns, the second- and third-best marks in state history, respectively. He garnered player of the year awards and top-recruit recognition from multiple publications.

"I've dealt with it ever since I was in high school," he says of the pressure. "When you're the guy, you just have to handle your business and be a professional. You are a role model, and do everything that the job entails being a quarterback - not only as a professional, but in high school and college as well."

The transition to the NFL wasn't an easy one.

When Boller was drafted 19th overall in the 2003 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens, expectations were high for the team that had won the Super Bowl three years earlier.

Once again, the pressure was on.

How much?

Former Ravens head coach and current NFL analyst Brian Billick points to 2010 No. 1 overall selection Sam Bradford, who signed a six-year, $78 million deal on July 30, $50 million of which is guaranteed.

Unlike Bradford's St. Louis Rams, however, Baltimore was ready to compete.

"He was with a championship-caliber team from the get-go and the mentality was, ‘Don't screw it up,'" Billick says of Boller. "That is a tough learning curve for a young quarterback."

As a rookie, the 1999 Hart grad started the first nine games of the season before suffering a knee injury in week 10 against the Rams.

Battling injures is a trend that Boller says has been his biggest obstacle.

"I've felt that when I get going in a rhythm an injury comes up, at least it has in the past," he says. "But I've been able to overcome that. And I've taken a lot of criticism from the media. I've felt like I've stayed strong and kept battling my butt off to be the player I know I can be."

The Ravens finished the regular season 10-6 in 2003, losing to the Tennessee Titans in the wild-card round.

With Boller out, Anthony Wright stepped in at quarterback.

The next season, Boller started all 16 games. Baltimore finished 9-7 and missed the playoffs.

Injuries stunted 2005, and in 2006, the Ravens brought in veteran Steve McNair to lead the offense.

Boller was in and out of the starting position in 2007, but in 2008, the Ravens drafted quarterback-of-the future Joe Flacco out of Delaware State.

In retrospect, Billick says it might have been better to give Boller a chance to learn behind a veteran, like Aaron Rodgers did with Brett Favre in Green Bay or even Carson Palmer did as a rookie behind Jon Kitna in Cincinnati.

"I don't know that Kyle ever had that guy to sit behind and learn from," says Billick, who coached Boller from 2003-2007. "I put Kyle into the fire a little early, but people forget, we went to the playoffs that year and won the division with him as the staring quarterback as a rookie. Maybe it would have been better to have a player to mentor him along the way."

Flacco found success in 2008, while Boller landed on injured reserve following a preseason shoulder injury.

The transition was underway.

On April 4, 2009, the Rams signed Boller to back up then-starter Marc Bulger.

After a lackluster year in St. Louis, where Boller started four games, he now finds himself in Oakland where he is currently third on the Raiders' depth chart behind projected starter Jason Campbell and Bruce Gradkowski.

In Oakland, Boller reunited with former Baltimore quarterbacks coach Hue Jackson, which he says was a factor in his decision to sign with the franchise.

"I have a history with Kyle, but Mr. (Al) Davis, when he was able to watch the tape, too, along with me, says, ‘Hey, this guy can play.' And I know he can," says Jackson, now the Raiders' offensive coordinator, of a conversation with the team's owner. "He's come in and done a good job. Kyle is a tremendous competitor, likes to play and is a good young man, and I'm glad he's here with us."

Aside from working with Jackson, Boller says he was just excited for the new start.

"It was just an opportunity to be on the West Coast and be with a great organization that's headed in the right direction," he says.

Boller appeared in both of the Raiders' preseason games this August, going 12-of-21 for 148 yards and a touchdown against Dallas on Aug. 12 and 7-of-9 for 55 yards and a rushing score Saturday against Chicago.

The Raiders won both games.

But with Colt Brennan and Charlie Frye also battling for a roster spot, Boller knows he can't let up.

"The mentality is you've got to go full force," he says. "It's not first gear, it's sixth gear. You have to put in the time, put in the extra work. All the things that have gotten you to the point that you are at, you have to do that and more."