Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1503568
1 1 2 A U G U S T 2 0 2 3 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M P ittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tom- lin never thought Joey Porter Jr. would still be available when it was time for his team to open Day 2 of the NFL Draft by making the first pick of the second round. For his part, Porter never thought he'd still be available, either. But when the All-America corner- back went undrafted in the first round, the Steelers found themselves in an advantageous situation. They could sit back and consider whatever trade of- fers came their way overnight, or they could select Porter, a player they con- sidered a first-round value, even if they had decided to use their initial pick to fill a more immediate need on the of- fensive line. Pittsburgh ended up choosing Porter, who had been a three-year starter at Penn State and was well known to Tom- lin. He was the son of Joey Porter Sr., a former Steelers All-Pro linebacker and assistant coach, and he was friends with one of Tomlin's sons. More important, though, he was player with the size and skill to do battle with elite NFL wide receivers. "We needed to infuse some young, long corner talent into our defense," Tomlin said during an appearance on Sirius XM Radio. Porter, he continued, "checked all the boxes. It's just dou- bly cool when it can check some of the interpersonal boxes and create a cool story. Make no mistake, the decision- making, the nuts and bolts of it was, this is a highly regarded cornerback who surprisingly was still on the board at 32, and we were thankful for it." At 6-foot-2, and with a wingspan ap- proaching 81 inches, Porter was known at Penn State for his rangy physique. He was joined in the Steelers' draft class by a similar cornerback, Purdue's 6-3 Cory Trice Jr., taken in the seventh round. Tomlin has nicknamed the two rook- ies "Avatars," a reference to the 9-foot- Pittsburgh chose Porter with the 32nd overall pick, following a redshirt junior season in which he allowed only 15 catches for 143 yards, per Pro Football Focus. PHOTO COURTESY PITTSBURGH STEELERS Joey Porter Jr. Makes Strong First Impression With Steelers M AT T H E R B A N D G R E G P I C K E L | B L U E W H I T E I L L U S T R AT E D PSU IN THE PROS