Pittsburgh Steelers second round draft pick, Joey Porter Jr. has had football in his life for as long as he can remember. Porter grew up in various NFL locker rooms. His dad, Joey Porter Sr. played from 1999-2011 for the Steelers, Miami Dolphins and Arizona Cardinals. Porter Sr. wanted to make it a point for his son to only play football if he wanted to, not because he did. This went a long way in Porter Jr. finding his own love for the game of football.
David J. Phillip Associated Press
Joey Porter celebrates a victory in Super Bowl XL with his two sons.
Pittsburgh Steelers Football Is A Family Affair
The Steelers have become a team that seems to find a way to bring the family together, specifically brothers. In the past five years, we have seen five sets of brothers come and play for the Steelers together. That includes the Watt brothers (both TJ Watt and Derek Watt), the Heyward brothers (both Cam Heyward and Connor Heyward), the Herbig brothers (both Nate Herbig and Nick Herbig), the Edmunds brothers (both Trey Edmunds and Terrell Edmunds), and the Davis twins (both Carlos Davis and Khalil Davis).
In 2023, Pittsburgh added to the family affair in a different way. Son of former Steelers linebacker Porter Sr. was drafted 32nd overall to play cornerback. Porter Jr. played four seasons at Penn State University where he set a school record for six pass breakups in one game in 2022 against Purdue. He was named First Team All Big Ten and a Second Team All-American as a redshirt Junior.
Penn State Athletics
Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. will have some heavy expectations in Pittsburgh.
Steelers DB Porter Jr.'s Love for Football Is Different Than His Dads
Porter Jr. never had to worry about money growing up and having to go and get a job at young age. He attributed to his parents' success and the plan they laid out for him. As a kid who had options and didn't have to play football to get out of a bad situation, he really had to find the love for it. His chip on the shoulder became making a name for himself and not just being his father's son. On The Pivot Podcast, he told a story about the first time he did a tackling drill, Porter Sr. made him quit because he wasn't ready.
“Man, 'Sammy the Bull' hit him so hard, he was over there crying, and the other coaches were looking over talking about how he was crying, and I told him, 'Man grab your stuff, let's go,'" Porter Sr. said about the first time Porter Jr. ever got hit.
The following day when Porter Jr. got ready for practice and was willing to do anything to go back out there, Porter Sr. knew that he had what it took to play football. Football will humble you whether you are a young kid first putting on pads, or an NFL Hall of Famer. Everyone gets theirs at some point in their career if you play long enough. If they tell you they haven't lost or been beaten at least once or twice, then they're lying. Hard work was instilled at a young age in Porter Jr., his dad made him understand that if he loved it and wanted to become a pro, the hard work before the games and taking care of your body was a huge part of it.
Newest @steelers’ corner @JoeyPorterJr is used to hearing the crowd chant “Joey, Joey, Joey”. He’s also used to it being for his father Joey Porter Sr. Now the tables have turned and it’s exactly what he & his father have been preparing for his entire football career.
— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) August 18, 2023
“He… pic.twitter.com/LZbFsZmsmD
Steelers Full Circle Moment
The Porter family was elated to have Porter Jr. get drafted to Pittsburgh for multiple reasons, the obvious one is that his family lives there and everyone will get to watch him play. Another reason actually comes from a player the Steelers signed this offseason, Patrick Peterson. Peterson was a rookie for the Arizona Cardinals when Porter Sr. was at the tail end of his career and was the mentor or "vet" for Peterson. Fast forward to 2023, Peterson is at the tail end of his career and now Porter Jr. is the incoming rookie he gets to mentor. Porter Sr. is extremely excited for the full circle moment of getting to be the guest instead of the player at Steelers Family Day.
