Detroit – As the Pittsburgh Steelers thank all those who helped them reach Super Bowl XL, Moses Moreno should not be forgotten.
It was while playing quarterback for the Colorado State Rams around the mid-1990s that Moreno figured out Joey Porter was not much of a tight end.
Jerramy Stevens might find humor in this.
Porter, the strong, fast, ferocious and highly opinionated rush linebacker for the Steelers, came to CSU as an H-back, the position Shannon Sharpe made famous with the Broncos. Moreno was CSU’s quarterback who later played for the Chicago Bears.
“I came in as a slot receiver, but they never really threw me the ball,” Porter said. “It was something where I didn’t feel like I was contributing to the team. So I asked Coach (Sonny) Lubick, ‘Is there any way I can play defense?”‘
The Steelers, and all those who have gone up against their blitzing defense, know the rest.
After strong safety Troy Polamalu, Porter is the Steelers’ most dominant defensive player. Porter is a prototype for the 3-4 defense in that at 6-feet-3, 250 pounds, he is an outside linebacker/defensive end hybrid. He led the Steelers during the regular season with 10 1/2 sacks and added three in the playoffs, including the pivotal tackle for loss and forced fumble of Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer that set up the first touchdown in a 34-17 victory in the AFC championship game.
Now, it’s on to Super Bowl XL today at Ford Field, where Porter will match up against the Seattle Seahawks. After two days of engaging in a highly publicized spat with Stevens, Seattle’s tight end, Porter’s primary foe today will be all-pro left tackle Walter Jones.
“He’s just a relentless pass rusher where he continually tries to make the play,” Jones said. “A lot of times you can block a guy and he’ll give up. But this guy doesn’t. I’ve got to make sure that if I block him past the quarterback, my job’s not done. I’ve got to make sure the quarterback has got rid of the ball.”
If not for the fateful decision to switch to the other side of the ball nine years ago at CSU, Jones probably would not be concerning himself with Porter today. And if not for Porter, would the Steelers have been Seattle’s Super Bowl opponent?
Porter arrived in Fort Collins from California, where he had been a high school receiver and wingback. At CSU, he had four catches as a freshman, then had a terrific spring to earn the starting H-back position as a sophomore.
“Yeah, he told us that, but it’s hard to believe,” fellow Steelers linebacker James Farrior said. “He had no running skills. I don’t know how they could put him at receiver because he really can’t catch, either. I mean, I don’t know what they were thinking up in Fort Collins, but they had it wrong, man.”
Farrior can joke because he’s a teammate. But apparently Moreno didn’t think Porter’s unsure hands were a laughing matter. After Porter finished with just nine catches, albeit for an impressive 18.3-yard average, the switch to defensive end was made the spring falling his sophomore season.
“He was probably 210 coming out of high school,” Lubick said last week. “He was a chiseled, good-looking guy. The next year he was 220. At defensive end, in a week he started to get the hang of it.”
Lined up at right defensive end with Clark Haggans at left end, Porter had seven sacks as a junior, 15 as a senior.
“Back there we were called bookends,” Porter said. “Our job was to pressure the quarterback and get up the field. The bookends kind of set the stage for the Steelers’ 3-4.”
Porter and Haggans combined for 19 1/2 sacks this season. Just like at CSU, Porter lines up on the right, Haggans on the left.
“With the Steelers, when we’re in the huddle, we’re basically in the same spot we were in college,” Haggans said. “We give a lot of eye contact, a lot of body language to each other, like, ‘Get your butt going.’ It’s crazy.”
Recently, Porter donated $200,000 to refurbish the CSU locker rooms. In return, Lubick will name the players’ den the Joey Porter Locker Room.
Holy, Moses.
Mike Klis can be reached at 303-820-5440 or mklis@denverpost.com.
