Being the son of a former NFL participant and place coach actually has its perks. For Penn State cornerback Joey Porter Jr., these perks included free entry to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ facility rising up as a child, the place he was in a position to watch and be taught from the perfect within the enterprise.
Now, Porter Jr. is months away from being on the opposite facet of that have, this time as a participant fairly than an observer. Speaking to reporters on the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis Thursday, Porter Jr. recalled his expertise because the son of former Steelers’ exterior linebacker and outdoors linebackers coach Joey Porter, and spoke fondly of the time he obtained to go up towards one Steelers’ celebrity that had fairly the influence on him.
“I remember as a young kid I did one-on-ones with AB [Antonio Brown], so that was a nice treat,” Porter Jr. stated concerning his expertise within the Steeles’ South Side facility. “I know he wasn’t going 100 percent, but just to be able to line up against him was something special.”
That was actually a particular deal with for a participant who went on to develop into a 4-star recruit at cornerback with gives from big-name colleges like LSU, Miami, West Virginia and Nebraska earlier than he in the end selected Penn State.
Though it’s very doubtless that AB, who was on the top of his powers whereas a member of the Steelers from 2010-18, wasn’t going 100%, simply giving Porter Jr. that chance to go up towards the highest receiver within the sport and attempt to be taught from the perfect within the enterprise needed to be fairly enlightening and had a profound influence on the youthful Porter.
“I just came in to be a sponge with every guy that was in the facility,” Porter Jr. added concerning his expertise within the Steelers’ facility. “They didn’t really have too much time to talk to me or tell me too much information. But yeah, it was a great experience.”
All these years later, Porter will now be going up towards the highest competitors weekly and has a very good shot at being the primary cornerback off the board within the 2023 NFL Draft.
Though Porter didn’t make a ton of high-impact performs in school with only one profession decide, which may very well be a difficulty for a Steelers’ secondary centered on taking the soccer away, he stays a fairly intriguing mix of measurement, pace and physicality for the place.
In our pre-draft profile, Jonathan Heitritter praised his willingness to deal with and talent to play press protection. But he additionally confirmed concern over a scarcity of elite lengthy pace and never having high-end instincts. Porter’s arm size needs to be a subject of dialog this weekend on the Combine. He’s anticipated to have report size for the place with 34+ inch arms. Some have even speculated he’ll are available at 35 inches, a quantity that may be excellent for an offensive deal with, not to mention a defensive again.
How that have with Antonio Brown years in the past helped him is anybody’s guess, nevertheless it stays a core reminiscence for the pending NFL cornerback. He’ll get an opportunity to make extra reminiscences like that on his personal within the NFL, too, which might happen in a Steelers uniform as properly.
That, for Porter Jr. and his household, can be a dream come true.
“I think it would probably mean a lot for me and my family,” Porter Jr. stated. “I’ve been in the Pittsburgh area for a little bit now, so staying at home would mean a lot.”
