Tag: Joey Porter Jr.

2021 Penn State Nittany Lions Profile Card: Joey Porter Jr.

Penn State cornerback Joey Porter Jr. will contribute to Penn State’s excellent secondary depth this upcoming season.

Name: Joey Porter Jr.

Number: 9

Position: Cornerback

Class: Redshirt sophomore

Height: 6′-2″

Weight: 195

Hometown: Bakersfield, CA

High School: North Allegheny (PA)

Twitter: @jjporter_1

Overview

Sometimes football just runs in the family. That is clearly the case for Penn State redshirt sophomore Joey Porter Jr. The son of former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Joey Porter and cousin to a handful of former college football and NFL players, Joey Porter Jr. did not need too much time to showcase what he is capable of doing on the football field at the cornerback position.

The former four-star recruit committed to Penn State in December 2018 and appeared in four games as a true freshman in 2019. Appearing in just four games allowed Porter to retain a redshirt year of eligibility. As a redshirt freshman in 2020, Porter appeared in eight of Penn State’s nine games played, including his first career start for the Nittany Lions. In those games, Porter made 33 tackles (24 solo tackles) and was credited for one sack and four pass breakups.

The fire and intensity he brings to the field is reminiscent of his father, but Porter is looking to make a name for himself. The flashes of brilliance have shown through and Porter appears to be a player who can keep himself motivated.

Porter was awarded All-Big Ten third team by the Big Ten media in 2020, and the coaches gave him an honorable mention at the end of the season. Entering 2021, Porter figures to be a key player in Penn State’s defensive secondary. But with the depth at the position being so strong, how many reps and opportunities Porter gets to shine remains to be seen. But he is too talented to keep off the field regularly, so expect Penn State to find ways to keep him involved in the game plan.

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Penn State football spring cleaning: 5 things the Nittany Lions need to address now for success in 2021

Penn State hopes to wrap up spring football feeling good about the 2021 season but what work could need to be done heading into the summer?

Penn State is in the midst of its spring football practices. A year after not having a chance to go through a typical spring, James Franklin and his Nittany Lions are embracing the opportunity to put in the work to potentially lead to a much stronger start to the 2021 season after last year’s dismal beginning.

After a stretch of three 11-win seasons in four years, highlighted by victories in the Fiesta Bowl and Cotton Bowl, Penn State’s national image took a bit of a bruising after a 4-5 2020 season. Despite lowered expectations on the national radar, there are some good reasons to be optimistic about what Penn State can accomplish in the fall despite having a challenging schedule on its hands.

A new offensive coordinator in Mike Yurcich combined with a third-year starting quarterback figures to put Penn State in a good spot for a solid start on offense. This is especially true with the emergence of one of the Big Ten’s top wide receivers in Jahan Dotson. But now is as good a time as any for Penn State to clean things up a little bit around the roster.

Here are a few things on the spring cleaning to-do list for the Nittany Lions that must be addressed if Penn State is going to be in the mix for a Big Ten championship in the fall.