Steelers rookie Joey Porter Jr.'s journey from 'average' ball boy to the NFL comes full circle

Updated Jul. 27, 2023 6:20 p.m. ET

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH (AP) — By his own admission, Joey Porter Jr.'s skills as a teenage ball boy during Pittsburgh Steelers training camps at St. Vincent College were lacking.

Not enough hustle. Not enough attention to detail. Maybe a little too much clowning around, be it on the field or in the dorm rooms after practice.

“I was kind of average,” Porter said with a laugh.

The memories remain fresh the better part of a decade later. So no, the rookie cornerback didn't need reminding on how to get to campus after signing a four-year deal on Monday, the day before his 23rd birthday.

And yes, he's well aware that the personal stakes of this camp are infinitely higher than the ones when he would run amok the way kids do when their dad — in this case, four-time Pro Bowl linebacker Joey Porter Sr. — is a former player turned assistant coach.

The roles have switched in a way. Now it's Joey Porter Jr. running onto Chuck Noll Field in a yellow practice jersey while his dad — now a linebackers coach in the XFL — is on the outside looking in.

The younger Porter is well aware of the standard and the larger-than-life persona the elder Porter created for himself during two stints in Pittsburgh. Joey Porter Jr. welcomes the pressure, even while embracing the chance to carve out his own path.

He took the first steps on Wednesday, his No. 24 pulled taut over his 6-foot-2 frame as he made his way down the hill for the first day of drills, a somewhat protracted contract negotiation firmly in his rearview mirror.

Porter never doubted he'd sign before camp opened, though he declined to get into the specifics of what took so long, an anomaly during an era when rookie contracts are assigned a slot value based on where they're taken in the draft.

Talks with the Steelers dragged on as Porter's reps and the organization sorted out the minutiae of a deal delayed until Tennessee rookie quarterback Will Levis — selected one pick after Porter — signed to set the market.

“I really wasn't getting antsy or nervous,” Porter said. “Me and (my) whole staff got a good understanding of what was going on with the numbers and stuff.”

Porter celebrated putting pen to paper by taking his family to Top Golf, where he claims he “won” because he's “elite" at the game, showing off a hint of the swagger that seemed to ooze from his father, a notorious trash-talker during his 13-year playing career.

While Porter Jr. is chatty, he also understands he's a rookie, albeit one who is hoping to get into the starting lineup sooner rather than later. He won over the Steelers front office with his size and his physicality at a position where both are at a premium.

“My coach always used to tell me that I have (all) this length and size and not use it?" Porter said. “So I try to use it to the best of my ability.”

Still, Porter managed all of one interception across four seasons at Penn State, a number attributed in part to a lack of opportunity. Opponents threw it Porter's way just 30 times in 2022.

Porter figures to be tested far more often while trying to carve out a spot in a secondary that features star safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and eight-time Pro Bowl cornerback Patrick Peterson. Veteran Levi Wallace has an edge on Porter in experience but will have his work cut out fending off Porter for playing time.

Wallace is the present. Porter is the future. A future that Porter is eagerly awaiting.

“At the end of the day, (the Steelers) got me for being me,” Porter said. “They know who I am. They know how I play. So I don’t have to really change anything about how I play or my style. So that’s what I’m walking in with, with just a lot of confidence.”

Confidence that was evident all those years ago when Porter would find his way onto the practice field trying to mimic dad, his presence occasionally becoming a problem, mostly because his random wind sprints threatened to interrupt the grown-ups trying to get their work in.

“I used to be like, ‘Would somebody please tell Joey Porter Junior to please get off the football field?’” general manager Omar Khan said with a laugh.

They aren't shooing Porter out of harm's way anymore. On Wednesday, he found himself thrown into the mix, an “average” ball boy no more.

On one snap Wednesday, he blanketed 5-foot-9 wide out Calvin Austin III. On another, he went toe-to-toe with 6-2 veteran Allen Robinson. On another, he jostled with 6-5 Hakeem Butler. Receivers come in different sizes. Porter believes he can cover them all.

“This is what I wanted,” he said. “This was always what I dreamed of. So I’m ready.”

NOTES: The Steelers held Fitzpatrick out of practice so defensive coordinator Teryl Austin could get a look at players lower on the depth chart. Tomlin said he expects some of his more accomplished veterans such as Fitzpatrick to get occasional days off, particularly early in camp.

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