Joey Porter Jr. heeds famous father's advice to become top NFL Draft prospect

By Ralph Vacchiano
Published

INDIANAPOLIS — Joey Porter Jr. was done with college football one year ago, convinced it was the right time to take his shot at the NFL. He was coming off a good sophomore season at Penn State. He was sure he could handle the jump to professional football.

Then his parents told him he was wrong.

"I had a hard conversation with my parents and they told me I wasn't ready," he said. "I took that and listened to them because my dad has been there before."

It definitely made the bad news easier to hear knowing his dad, Joey Porter Sr., was something of an expert. He spent 13 years in the NFL. He had 98 sacks, went to four Pro Bowls, was an All-Pro twice, and won a Super Bowl when his son was just 5 years old. So when it's a longtime Pittsburgh Steelers pass-rusher telling his son he needed another year in college, it wasn't just the voice of a worried parent.

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The advice was good and real and something Porter Jr. needed to hear.

"It definitely hurt," Porter Jr. said. "Definitely didn't want to hear that from your parents, but I knew it was from good intentions.

"And they were right."

One year later, it's clear the extra year at Penn State paid off, because Porter Jr. arrived at the NFL scouting combine as one of the best cornerbacks in this year's NFL draft. He doesn't have flashy numbers — just one interception in his three seasons — but he's got plenty of talent. Last year, in 10 games as a junior, opposing teams barely threw to his side of the field at all.

That lack of action doesn't make him jump off the film like his famous dad used to do. His demeanor doesn't quite match his father's either. Porter Sr. was infamous for his aggression, getting involved in several fights during his eight years with the Steelers. He even got involved in one during his three years with them as an assistant coach.

Porter Jr., during his press conference on Thursday, seemed calm and polite, smiling far more than most remember his father doing during his playing days.

"I kind of get down like my dad on the field," he said, "and like my mom off the field."

But his off-field demeanor is deceptive, he said. On the field, he said, "You're going to get a competitor who wants to compete at anything he does."

"I would say I'm a physical press corner that's going to get in your face and do my job and do it well," he said. "I feel like I'm the best corner here."

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Marvin Harrison and Joey Porter talked about their sons facing off in the matchup between Ohio State and the Penn State.

He might be. This is considered a deep, talented and top-heavy cornerback class, featuring maybe a dozen players that could easily go in the first two rounds. One NFL scout this week suggested five to six corners could end up being taken in the first round, with Porter part of a first-round group that includes Oregon's Christian Gonzalez, Georgia's Kelee Ringo, Illinois' Devon Witherspoon and possibly a few others depending on who is asked.

And yes, having a famous NFL father, and having grown up around the game is definitely an advantage when teams are deciding which young players to take.

"When you're around the game so much and understand it, I think it shows in not only the person in the building, but also on the football field," Steelers GM Omar Khan said this week. "I think when you're around it more, you're around football and around people that are in football, it's just natural."

Porter Jr. has had a lifetime of that experience, dating all the way back to his first pro football memory — when his dad's Steelers beat the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL in 2006. He spent his youth constantly hanging around players and locker rooms, watching his dad work out and practice. He even used to do one-on-one passing drills with then-Steelers receiver Antonio Brown.

What did his dad teach him? "Just to be myself, no matter what," Porter Jr. said. "People are always going to make comparisons. I have my name. He has his name for a reason. Just do what I love to do for a reason."

Actually, his dad had one more important piece of advice. Porter Sr. may be proud that he lasted 13 years in the league, racked up nearly 100 sacks, went to Pro Bowls and won a championship, but he wants his son to somehow do better than that.

"My dad's been there before. He's done it. I want to do the same thing and just be better," Porter Jr. said. "That's the main thing he always told me. He wants me to be better than him.

"So that's what I'm going to strive to do."

Ralph Vacchiano is the NFC East reporter for FOX Sports, covering the Washington Commanders, Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants. He spent the previous six years covering the Giants and Jets for SNY TV in New York, and before that, 16 years covering the Giants and the NFL for the New York Daily News. Follow him Twitter at @RalphVacchiano.

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