Joey Porter Sr. delivers inspiring pep talk to son after NFL Draft slide

Last updated: 2023/05/03 at 8:39 PM

BigP Published May 3, 2023

While much of the focus of the 2023 NFL Draft‘s first round was on Kentucky quarterback Will Levis, another top prospect was also sliding out of the first round — Penn State cornerback Joey Porter Jr.

Like Levis, Porter Jr. was also in Kansas City on the first night of the draft, expecting to hear his name called and becoming increasingly disappointed when it was not. NFL Films captured a pep talk the distraught defensive back received from his father, former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Joey Porter Sr., after the first round concluded.

“They wanted to see a pissed-off football player, now they got one,” Porter Sr. is seen telling his son. “So now, follow me when I be giving you little nuggets about what we’ve got to do and how we’ve got to work. This is gonna be part of the whole motivation now. You know where you were supposed to have [been selected], but we don’t have control over that, which is why I was trying to prepare you for anything.

“Now you’ve been motivated to another level, because we got something to prove. Take it personal, as you should, but you’ve done nothing [wrong]. You did everything you were supposed to do. You ain’t letting nobody down here.”

If only both father and son could have seen what was coming next. With the first pick in the second round, the Steelers selected Porter Jr., bringing him back to a place he repeatedly called “home” in his first post-draft public comments. Like his father, Porter Jr. will play for Steelers head coach and longtime family friend Mike Tomlin, though he said his relationship with Tomlin will be just “business” when the two are in the Steelers’ building together.

“It was always that little voice in the back of my head, saying ‘Maybe the Steelers could draft you,’” Porter Jr. said. “When they were on the clock and the time was winding down, I was like, ‘Dang, they might not get me.’ But then I saw that 412 [area code] pop up [on my phone] and I was like ‘OK, yeah, I’m coming home.'”

Porter Jr. also responded to the clip of his father’s pep talk on Twitter, saying that elder Porter “Always got my back!”

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