New Pittsburgh Steelers defensive assistant and former linebacker Joey Porter was excused from a few of the rookie minicamp practices over the weekend in order to attend his graduation from Colorado State.
Saturday night, Porter attended his graduation ceremony after earning his Bachelor of Arts degree in liberal arts from the school that he played for.
“It speaks volumes about Joey’s commitment that he finished what he started and earned his degree,” said Head Coach Jim McElwain, according to the school’s website. “That was the goal when he came back last summer to work with our team and gain experience as a coach, to work toward completing his degree. He poured a lot into our team last season, and we’re excited he has built on that experience now as an assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Steelers. It’s even more rewarding to see Joey now as a graduate of Colorado State University.”
Porter, who returned to CSU as an undergraduate student assistant football coach last July while finishing up his degree, was drafted by the Steelers in the third-round of the 1999 NFL Draft. He played eight seasons in Pittsburgh before being released in 2007 and went on to play five more seasons with the Miami Dolphins and Arizona Cardinals.
In 2013, Porter was inducted into the CSU Athletics Hall of Fame.
