PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – This year the Steelers are likely to have a pair of WPIAL players as key parts in their secondary. One may be able to thank the other for being in this position.
The two took much different paths to get to Penn State in 2019. The son of a Steelers great, Joey Porter, Junior had his choice of colleges. Everyone wanted the corner from North Allegheny High School and he arrived as a sure thing.
Jaquan Brisker had to spend two years at a junior college before getting the opportunity to play at Penn State. The three-star recruit and former Gateway High School safety became a team captain with Lackawanna College and when he first hooked up with Porter, he wasn’t impressed.
“I think he was just his ego, you know, his ego when he came in,” Brisker said. “I think it was like, what, four or five star (recruit)? I just had to. Just get them right, into the right path, football-wise.”
Brisker said simply, Porter, Junior had to mature. Even coming in as a big-time recruit, Porter ended up being a redshirt as he couldn’t get on the field. The WPIAL corner started eight of the 14 games his redshirt freshman season, but wasn’t where he could be. Meanwhile, Brisker was named by the coaching staff as the team’s defensive MVP.
In his final season, Brisker was voted captain and took it upon himself to work directly with Porter, Junior, and others.
“I was the leader, and I wanted to win a championship so bad,” Brisker told Pittsburgh reporters. “And I felt like it was my job to get the D.B.'s, the group, the defense together. And that takes hard work. You know, that takes work ethic, and that's an everyday thing. That's consistency, and it's not just a one-day thing, or it's not just, you know, I'm going to show up and just give my talent.”
“And for him, he wanted to be great, and I wanted push him, and seeing what he had in him. But really in all my teammates, that's what I see. I see greatness within him, and I'm the number one fan.”
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“He's from Pittsburgh, and he was a top recruit. But Coach Terry brought us in to win championships. So didn't want him to slack. And obviously knew his dad, things like that. And we came in together. So you just got to push your teammates.”
That season Brisker became a First-Team All-American and again voted the coach’s defensive MVP. He was a semifinalist for the Chuck Bednarik and Jim Thorpe Awards.
Porter, Junior became an every down starter and by the next season was an All-American himself and drafted by the Steelers with the 32nd overall selection.
“What he did, and that's one of my favorite teammates, one of guys, and to see him where he came from at Penn State to now, it's amazing,” Brisker said. “And he's going to be a great player in this league, for sure.”
By the end of last season Porter, Junior was one of the best corners in the game. He enters a contract season with a huge paycheck coming. Thanks in part to his Nittany Lions teammate.