**PITTSBURGH --** When [Joey Porter Jr.](https://www.pennlive.com/steelers/2025/04/new-steelers-cornerback-promises-to-make-this-player-a-superstar-get-him-right.html) talked at OTAs, he noted the penalties this year had to go. [Darius Slay](https://www.pennlive.com/steelers/2025/03/pittsburgh-steelers-to-sign-all-pro-cb-darius-slay.html) is around to mentor him, which will help, but Porter’s defensive backs coach Gerald Alexander has the fix to his issues. When asked what Porter’s biggest problem was, Alexander noted technique and trust deeper into the route rather than at the line of scrimmage.
“There’s a process to having success within a given play and obviously not dealing with an error of penalizing yourself due to maybe a lack of technique within the route. Joey does a great job. I think he’s one of the elite guys at the line of scrimmage as far as disrupting releases and getting hands-on and stuff like that. And so it’s really post that. It’s not necessarily getting aggressive beyond that combative stage within that five yards, and now it’s just time for just to trust his transition, trust his process, trust his coverage ability, and then obviously when he’s in a position to be able to defend the ball down the field, it’s getting his eyes up and challenging that and going for the ball instead of trying to think about how do I keep the receiver from not receiving the ball,” Alexander said.
In addition, Porter’s mental ability to move on from penalties needs to improve. Last year, 14 of the 17 penalties called on Porter were in four games, with ten of those coming against Tee Higgins.
Alexander says some of those struggles can be mental, and he is working with Porter to change his mindset on a given play.
“A lot of the elimination of those things comes in the form of how do we develop and continue to detail some of the technique, and that’s within covering the route, the top of the route transitions or routes going down the field, making sure that we’re getting our eyes back and playing the ball and not necessarily playing the receiver, especially when we’re in good positions to do so. So some of that stuff can be mental, and some of the things that I always say is, you know, you want to play to win versus play not to lose. And so I try to get those guys to understand the mentality that it takes in order to be able to play the ball down the field and not so much worry about if the receiver catches it. And you’re not thinking about failure. You’re thinking about how do I put myself in position to finish this play versus preventing him from making one,” Alexander said.
The Steelers hope to see Porter turn the corner in that area this year, and Alexander has a clear plan to change that. Porter’s penalties have become the biggest hindrance to his game, going from just good to great, having a strong start in his rookie season.
Alexander hopes to coax that growth out of Porter and see him rise into one of the NFL’s best cornerbacks.