All 105 is a Nittany Sports Now series profiling each Penn State football player. Here is a profile of redshirt sophomore cornerback Joey Porter Jr.
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 196 pounds
Hometown: Bakersfield, California
Before Penn State: The name Joey Porter has been known to football fans for more than two decades.
Joey Porter Sr. played 13 NFL seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Miami Dolphins and Arizona Cardinals, making five All-Pro teams and winning a Super Bowl with the Steelers.
It was in Pittsburgh where Joey Porter Sr. became a star NFL linebacker, and it was in the Pittsburgh area where Joey Porter Jr. made a name for himself at North Allegheny High School.
The younger Porter’s play made him a four-star recruit according to 247Sports’ composite rankings, and he committed to Penn State on early signing day in 2018.
2019: Porter played in four of Penn State’s 13 games as a true freshman.
He broke up his first pass Sept. 27 in a 59-0 win over Maryland and made his first tackle Oct. 5 in a Homecoming win over Purdue.
2020: Porter became a regular starter for Penn State in its shortened, COVID-19 themed season.
He played in and started eight of Penn State’s nine games. Porter made third-team All-Big Ten in both the coaches and media polls.
2021: Porter started all 13 of Penn State’s games and once again made All-Big Ten. The coaches named him to the third team and the media named him honorable mention all-conference.
He ended the season with 51 tackles (40 solo) and broke up four passes, forced a fumble and intercepted a pass.
Where he stands:
Porter has started 21 of Penn State’s 22 games over the past two seasons, so it’s probably safe to say he isn’t going anywhere unless he gets hurt.
In his time as a starter, Porter has shown flashes of brilliance and incompetence.
At times, he’s played like somebody capable of being a first-round NFL draft pick when his time comes. Other times, he’s helped out opposing offenses unintentionally with penalties.
Porter picked up 10 penalties last season, per Pro Football Focus, with three coming in a loss at Ohio State and two more in a loss at Michigan State.
If Porter can limit his mistakes, he can be as good or better than anybody on Penn State’s defense, and make a lot of money in 2023.
Phil Steele’s College Football Preview magazine named Porter a preseason third-team All-American, so big things are expected of him nationally in 2022.
A quote about Porter:
“Porter is a 6-foot-2 cornerback capable of pushing Eli Apple out of town so that another team’s fanbase can hate him instead,” wrote For the Win in it’s mock draft posted in May, which had Porter going to the Cincinnati Bengals in the first round. “Also, he’s Joey Porter’s son, which means he wants nothing more than to explode you into powder when you have the ball.”
