Pittsburgh Post Gazette

When the Steelers selected Kenny Pickett in the first round of the draft last year, one of the reasons they felt so comfortable making the pick was their familiarity with him. They watched him compete in games and practices for four years. They got to know him on a personal level and had easy access to Pitt’s coaches to ask any pertinent questions about his game and character. When Pickett was there for the taking at No. 20, there was no hesitation from the Steelers. The Steelers would have the same kind of comfort level with Penn State cornerback Joey Porter Jr., who grew up at the Steelers facility. The son of former Steelers linebacker and assistant coach Joey Porter, Porter Jr. was a regular at Steelers practices during his high school days at North Catholic and North Allegheny high schools. It wasn’t unusual to see Porter going through defensive backs drills with the Steelers during training camp practices at Saint Vincent College. Even when he wasn’t on the field with pros, he was watching from the sidelines alongside Dino Tomlin, the son of head coach Mike Tomlin.