Joey Porter Jr. to play key role in success for North Allegheny

By: HSSN Staff
Tuesday, July 17, 2018 | 9:48 PM

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Joey Porter Jr. still felt a little like the new kid at North Allegheny last summer.

“It was tough,” said Porter, who was entering his first season with the Tigers. “It was tough getting the players’ trust. It was tough getting all of the (football) stuff down. Switching from 2A to 6A on such short notice was tough. But when you get used to it, it’s pretty easy.”

As Porter readies for his second summer camp, North Allegheny coach Art Walker said he already sees a much different player who’s now full of confidence.

“He was learning,” Walker said. “Now he’s comfortable. He’s more mature and he’s got a greater understanding.”

The 6-foot-2, 180-pound cornerback and wide receiver showed his raw potential last season when he intercepted seven passes, returned a fumble 75 yards for a touchdown and took a punt return to the end zone. On the offensive side, Porter was limited to eight receptions, slowed at times by an arm injury that cost him three games.

This fall, he and his coaches expect him to become a key part of the team’s all-around success.

“This year he’s got to be a guy who’s a two-way threat,” Walker said. “He did some good things last year, but he needs to be a guy that (opponents) are leery of because he has those capabilities.”

Porter, son of the former Steelers linebacker, has almost 30 scholarship offers. His list has Pitt, Penn State and West Virginia locally, but also includes LSU, Miami and a number of others nationally.

Among them is Colorado State, his father’s alma mater. Porter laughs when he’s told he should be a linebacker like his dad.

“They look at my dad and they look at me,” said Porter, who has a lean frame. “They think I’m going to do the same thing as him but it’s totally different. I’m trying to make a name for myself and be my own person, so I’m sticking to this (position) for as long as I can.”

But Porter isn’t bothered by the comparisons.

“People will always know me as Joey Porter’s son,” he said, “and I’m cool with that because he did a lot of great things in the (NFL). That’s a good spot.”

Porter played wide receiver at Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic before transferring to North Allegheny, but last season was his first playing defensive back. Now that he understands the basics, he’s focused more on the details, with help from NA’s coaches, his father and personal instructor Sean McCaskill.

“I’ve really worked on trying to make all of my coverages look the same,” Porter said. “I try to disguise all of my coverages: Cover 2, Cover 3, man. I’ve tried to get that down to all look the same, so I can make the quarterback as confused as possible.”

He noted that the name Joey Porter Jr. brings higher expectations. But at the same time, he’s also set rather lofty goals for himself.

“I want to lead the WPIAL in interceptions, pass break-ups and tackles for all DBs,” he said. “I want all that this year.”

Joey Porter Jr.

School: North Allegheny

Class: senior

Ht/wt: 6-2/180

Positions: WR/CB

Stars: 4

Committed to: uncommitted

Division I offers: Pitt, Penn State, West Virginia, LSU, Miami, Nebraska, Rutgers, Arizona State, Central Florida, Cincinnati, Syracuse, Colorado State, Temple, Maryland, Boston College, Buffalo, Toledo and Howard

2017 stats: 7 interceptions, 26 total tackles, 8 catches, 143 receiving yards, 3 TDs

Chris Harlan is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Chris at charlan@tribweb.com or via Twitter @CHarlan_Trib.