For years, Joey Porter Jr. was the one on the sideline looking on proudly, watching his father in the Black and Gold preparing for another season in the heat and humidity at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe.
On Tuesday, it was Joey Porter Sr.’s turn to be the onlooker.
Porter Sr. was in attendance Tuesday for the Steelers’ first padded practice of training camp on Chuck Noll Field and got a chance to see his son go through some ups and downs in practice.
Of course, there was the highlight-reel catch from George Pickens over Porter Jr. that went viral. After that Porter Jr. had a really strong day of practice, intercepting his first pass of training camp in the process, and continues to put together good day after good day.
Speaking with reporters following Tuesday’s practice, Porter Jr. stated that he was a little extra amped up with his father and family in attendance as well as former Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor, for whom Porter is wearing No. 24.
“Definitely had a little extra juice. You know, we always gotta show when my family comes to support, so I’m glad they came,” Porter Jr. told reporters, according to video via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “Glad they seen me get my first pick, but now we just gotta keep working.”
Early in the first padded practice of training camp, Porter was one of the first players down the hill to get ready for practice. He worked on the JUGS machine again, continuing to put work in on his hands, and then got some individual one-on-one time with defensive backs coach Grady Brown before the start of practice.
From there, Porter had a strong day.
He was physical throughout the session and got the better of Pickens in a physical rep that did not draw a flag. Though Pickens eventually got him back and went viral with a spectacular contested catch, leading to a heated response from Porter throwing the ball back at Pickens, the rookie showed time and time again that next-play mentality that is incredibly important at the position.
That came in handy later in practice as he tracked a deep shot down the right sideline from quarterback Mitch Trubisky and skied into the air for his first interception of camp.
Here’s how Steelers Depot’s own Alex Kozora described the play in his training camp diary from Day Five in Latrobe: “Porter tracks a Trubisky heave down the right sideline, has great inside positioning on WR Cody White that pins him to the sideline, and picks the ball off for his first interception of camp. Nice little runback, too. Big moment for the rookie.”
It was a big moment for Porter and it closed a strong day overall, outside of the viral catch by Pickens. You win some, you lose some. Porter has the right mentality for the position and has all the tools. He was a little amped up early on in practice in an effort to show out in front of his family, but eventually he settled down and continued to stack good days.
