North Allegheny grad Joey Porter Jr. stands out among Penn State's defensive backs

STATE COLLEGE — Penn State hasn’t had many cornerbacks like Joey Porter Jr. Few possess his raw talent. Even fewer are built like him.

Porter is already a 2023 first-round projection in several mock drafts. The North Allegheny grad, the son of Pittsburgh Steelers great Joey Porter, was a third-team All-Big Ten pick by the conference’s coaches last season.

But there were a couple of issues with penalties in 2021, and Porter’s overall play sometimes gets overlooked as a result.

Still, Penn State veteran cornerbacks coach Terry Smith knows what he has in the 198-pound Porter, who is entering his fourth season with the Nittany Lions.

From a physical standpoint, Smith said there is only one former Lion — a good one — who is comparable to Porters: Amani Oruwariye, one of the top young corners in the NFL. He was a first-team All-Big Ten choice in 2018.

“Amani’s having such a great career with the Detroit Lions,” Smith said. “Amani’s built similar to (Porter). Amani probably has a lot of what Joey has, (but) Joey has more speed. Amani wasn’t as fast, but those two guys are probably the most comparable in my mind, of guys I’ve coached because of their length.

“Joey’s kind of exceptional with his speed, athleticism, that combination he has. He’s 6-3. His arms are 35 inches. That’s the longest on the team — D-ends, O-linemen, everyone. And so you put that out on the perimeter, it’s tough on receivers to get separation. We’re excited about him.”

More Penn State football:

• After 2 disappointing seasons, James Franklin likes Penn State's depth, but question marks remain
• New Penn State AD Pat Kraft discusses Big Ten scheduling issue, future of Beaver Stadium
• Penn State's Sean Clifford among old-guy QBs in Big Ten

With Tariq Castro-Fields gone, Porter is the Lions’ clear-cut No. 1 corner. He had 51 tackles (40 solos), four pass breakups, an interception and a forced fumble last season.

And Porter is viewed as one of the top corners in the Big Ten entering this season, flags or no flags.

“Just try to work on my game, work on my craft but still stay true to myself,” Porter said when asked about penalties. “You can’t let that affect my game style. You can’t let the penalties or the ref affect how I play. I’m just going to work on me and just try to be the best I can be.

“I feel like a lot of people don’t really understand the corner position. You could play a perfect game but give up that one play that costs the game, and people will just think you’re just a terrible guy, a terrible player. But that’s the position we signed up for because when you make those big plays, everybody loves you. So it comes with it.”

Smith said when it comes to pass coverage, some penalties are more acceptable than others.

“When you want plays out on the perimeter, you’re going to have to live with some aggressive penalties,” he said. “What we don’t want is bad penalties, where you’re out of position, you’re panicking, you’re not trusting your technique. If we’re jumping the ball and we kind of get there at little bit too quick, we’ve got to play through those things.

“My job is to get all that cleaned up for Joey and help him have a penalty-free season. If a penalty happens, we’re going to snap the next play because that’s all that matters.”