There’s an old football joke on Twitter that in college football, the wildest matchups aren’t the ones against two star players or two backups who won’t make it to the NFL. It’s when the future NFL All-Pro goes up against a future accountant – that’s where the magic happens.
And I’m sure that’s true. Right now, there’s some guy in Accounts Payable telling stories about how he faced Aaron Donald when he played for Ball State his sophomore year, trying to leave out the part where Donald ate his lunch all day.
But at Saint Vincent College, for today, tomorrow, and hopefully the next decade, the matchup to talk about is WR George Pickens and Joey Porter Jr. Two studs.
Today, Pickens won the battle. But there’s a long war to be fought. And Porter seems up for the challenge.
By now, you’ve probably seen Pickens’ incredible one-handed grab in 1v1, the kind of catches he can make. The kind that are any other wide receiver’s greatest catch of their life is probably only somewhere inside Pickens’ top five, just another day at the office. And kudos to Steelers Depot photographer Tim Rice for an incredible shot of the moment, a perfect capture of the play.
If you’ve seen the video, you saw Pickens get up and throw the football back in Porter’s face. That may seem over the top but moments earlier in seven shots, it was Porter who forced an incompletion Pickens’ way. Pickens pled for a flag, didn’t get it, and Porter was jawing at him as they both walked back to their respective sides, Porter to his left and Pickens his right.
Consider what Pickens did on his grab revenge. A dish best served cold. Ice cold.
Though it didn’t come against Pickens, Porter made a splash play with his first interception of camp a short time later. Pinning wide receiver Cody White to the sideline, Porter picked off Mitch Trubisky’s deep shot, returning it back 10-15 yards before stopping up. Despite getting Moss’d, Porter showed a short-term memory every good cornerback needs and made a play when it came to him later in the day. Overall, Porter’s had a good camp. He’s shown long speed, his length, enough fluidity to flip his hips and drive, and the confidence and mental toughness required.
It’s iron sharpen iron. Pickens and Porter are freaky dudes. The guys you build in Madden just so you can throttle the CPU for the fun of it. Pickens is 6’3 and runs in the low 4.4’s with the largest catch radius of any wide receiver in the NFL. He makes the ridiculous look routine. Porter is a 6’2 corner with 34-inch vines for arms who can turn and run with Calvin Austin III, a 4.32-40 receiver whose kept every bit of his speed despite 2022 foot surgery.
They’re two mythical Greek Gods going against each other. Young guys, Pickens a second-year player, Porter just a rookie, and the 2024 battles when Porter gets to make the leap Pickens currently is should make this battle all the more fun to watch. Porter’s never faced a guy like Pickens on a daily basis. And even though Pickens played at powerhouse Georgia, he’s probably never seen a talent like Porter. At least not in practice.
Enjoy today. It was a ton of fun. We’ll see those two go at it the rest of the summer. Today, the war began. But it’s a fight we’ll watch every summer. Porter versus Pickens. Those two will be better off for it. And the Steelers will reap the benefits.
