The Steelers selected cornerback Joey Porter Jr. in the second round, using the 32nd overall pick to draft the Penn State product.
“I’m excited to get Joey,” defensive coordinator Daryl Austin said. “We knew we wanted a young cornerback. He has many excellent attributes. Size, length, competitiveness, tough. Very good. We are very happy to have him come in and contribute to our team. We look forward to it. He’s coming in and competing and we’ve got a chance to win games this year.
“He’ll get every opportunity to get in there and show what he can do.”
Porter is someone the Steelers are very familiar with. He is the son of former Steelers linebacker Joey Porter, who was drafted by the Black and Gold in the third round of the 1999 NFL Draft and played for the team from 1999-2006.
“It’s my taste,” Porter said. “It’s me. It’s not him. He understands that.”
Austin said his interest in him wasn’t because of his dad, but because of what he did during his Penn State career.
“He’s his own person,” Austin said. “Really attentive. Really good listener. Will ask the right questions. He wants to be good. He wants to excel.
“I think it’s more, it’s not the people in the building or his dad, it’s him coming home. A lot of guys are going to move to a new city. They have to learn a new way to live. He knows these things. It’s less stressful so he can focus more on the football side. can
“The great thing about him was that he knew what he had to do. It wasn’t who his dad was. They came to see him because he was a good player. I think he understood from the start. He handled it like a real professional.”
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