Joey Porter Jr. will follow in his father’s footsteps as he was selected No. 32 overall on Friday night by the Pittsburgh Steelers with the first selection of the second round. Porter Jr. will start his professional career with the same franchise his father played linebacker for over the course of eight seasons including one Super Bowl victory.
The choice gives Penn State a 12th cornerback drafted in program history. Porter Jr. was expected by many draft prognosticators to go in the first on Friday evening but was instead the fifth cornerback off the board after four others were selected in the opening round. All the same Porter Jr.’s selection is still the highest by a Penn State cornerback in program history.
Tariq Castro-Fields is the most recent Nittany Lions taken at the cornerback position during the NFL Draft going in the 6th round during the 2022 selection process. Paul Lankford’s selection in the third round with the 80th overall pick was the previous high for Penn State cornerbacks who have generally been drafted in rounds three through eight, historically.
Porter Jr. is the 15th player over the course of Penn State head coach James Franklin’s tenure to go in the first two rounds of the draft and the highest drafted player since Jahan Dotson went No. 16 overall in 2022.
Porter Jr. leaves Penn State to join former Nittany Lion safety Marcus Allen and tight end Pat Freiermuth in Pittsburgh. He finished his collegiate career having made 94 total tackles over the course of his four year career, while breaking up 11 passes during his final 2022 season in State College. Porter Jr. appeared in 10 games last season following an appendectomy and opting to sit out of Penn State’s eventual Rose Bowl victory against Utah to close out the year.
