PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – As you watched Day 3 of the NFL Draft, there was a player that consistently was near the top in the ‘best available’. There was another period where he was the overall best player not yet picked. Purdue corner Cory Trice fell far enough the Steelers took him with the 241st overall pick in the seventh round.
He’s physically imposing at 6’3”, 206 pounds with long arms, as Steelers defensive back coach Grady Brown said, he will help the team look good coming off the bus. He started his career at Purdue as a safety, but the Steelers plan is for him to battle at cornerback.
“Did a great job at Purdue at taking up a lot of space on the line of scrimmage,” Brown said Saturday. “Played a lot of press coverage, that’s huge. It’s the way he plays press, being able to go down and not play a motor technique, not back up. He uses that 6’3” frame to take up a lot of space and make guys work on the line of scrimmage.”
Brown said he worked with Trice a little at the NFL Combine, where he ran a 4.47, 40-yard dash with a 35.5 vertical jump. He led the Boilermakers with 10 pass breakups in 13 starts finishing with a pair of interceptions, 34 tackles and was named Honorable Mention All-Big 10.
A scout told NFL.com that he was getting slept on, enough that a guy that is good in man coverage slipped all the way to late in the seventh round.
Three times named academic all-conference, Trice says Steelers fans and Steelers nation won’t regret the draft pick.