A dream came true for Penn State cornerback Joey Porter Jr. on Friday. After sitting through the entire first round of the 2023 NFL draft without hearing his name called, Porter was optimistic he still had a chance to be a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Then with the first pick in the second round, after Porter had chosen to go back home rather than stay at the draft, that 412 area code popped up on his phone and he knew exactly what it meant.
“I was not expecting this,” he said. “After last night, I was like, ‘Anything can happen in this draft.’ When the clock was winding down, I was like, ‘Dang, they might not get me.’ Then I saw that 412 number pop up and I was like, ‘I’m coming home.’ ”
Make no mistake, while Porter is a legacy, he was chosen just as much because he can play. Porter is a press-man specialist and pure boundary cornerback. He is going to have a tremendous opportunity to learn the position under head coach Mike Tomlin as well as newly-signed veteran Patrick Peterson.
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