Steelers rookie cornerback Joey Porter Jr. said covering Titans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins on Thursday night was a dream come true.
With Porter covering Hopkins for most of the game, Hopkins struggled and was held without a catch in the second half. Porter said he was thrilled to have a strong game against an elite opponent.
“D-Hop is one of the tops in this league, he’s been doing it a long time, so definitely a lot of respect for him, but I’m the young guy so I’ve got to show him what I’ve got,” Porter said.
Porter said he played physically with Hopkins and that Hopkins was complaining to the officials about it, even though Hopkins was also pushing off on Porter.
“He kept asking for calls. I was like, ‘You’re doing the pushing. How can you ask for calls when you’re doing the pushing?’” Porter said.
Porter told Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin during the week that he wanted to be matched up with Hopkins, no matter where Hopkins lined up.
“On Tuesday I went to Coach T and I told him, ‘I want 10.’ I don’t hide from that. I was like, ‘That’s the matchup I want. That’s the matchup I need,’” Porter said.
Porter got the matchup he wanted, and won the matchup with Hopkins.