One of the primary objectives for spring practices, though certainly not the only, is to acclimate new players, particularly rookies, into your system, if not into the NFL itself. For the Pittsburgh Steelers, it seems as though they can consider that mission accomplished after wrapping up OTAs and minicamp, as we’ve managed to hear positive things about all the rookies.
While that could be selective reporting, there are also cases like second-round cornerback Joey Porter Jr., who didn’t start off strong but had a consistent upward trajectory throughout his work on the field in the months of May and June. By the end of his 15 on-field practices, he told Joe Rutter of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, “I feel like I belong”.
Of course, how could he not? He was practically born in the Steelers’ locker room when his father, Joey Porter Sr., was whooping it up and getting people amped in the halls. Steelers general manager Omar Khan recalled after drafting the younger Porter that he used to wonder whose kid was running around everywhere—and now he’s in the black and gold.
But I digress. Porter was not referring to that sort of belonging, of being in a place where he is accepted and with which he is familiar, but rather in feeling like he is adjusting to the NFL, to the life of a professional athlete, to what the coaches are asking him to do.
“The first couple of days, it was kind of rough, not really understanding the defense and not knowing the speed of the NFL”, the rookie defensive back conceded in acknowledgment of what we’d heard others say about his early OTA practices. “But after that, I got the hang of it, and I feel like I ended on a great note”.
It’s never bad to end on a high note, but it’s a note he’ll have to hold for several weeks over the break before the Steelers move on to the next phase of the offseason, heading to Latrobe for training camp. He’s been there before, as a little menace and then later as a ball boy when his father was on the coaching staff, but now he’ll be the one on the field and he won’t get yelled at for it—unless he messes up.
It goes without saying that Joey Porter Jr. belonged in Pittsburgh long before the Steelers drafted him, in many ways. But the only reason they did draft him, at least where they drafted him, is because they believe he will find where he belongs within their defense and will help the team win games.
He’s taken his first steps on that path over the course of the past month or so, and things will continue to ramp up in July and August before the regular season arrives. The only real questions are how soon he sees the field, and in what capacity.
