Tracy Porter
| No. 22 New Orleans Saints | |
| Cornerback | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth: August 11, 1986 | |
| Place of birth: Port Allen, Louisiana | |
| Height: 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | Weight: 188 lb (85 kg) |
| Career information | |
| College: Indiana | |
| NFL Draft: 2008 / Round: 2 / Pick: 40 | |
| Debuted in 2008 for the New Orleans Saints | |
| Career history | |
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| Roster status: Active | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Career NFL statistics as of Week 14, 2011 | |
| Tackles | 188 |
| Sacks | 1.0 |
| INTs | 7 |
| Stats at NFL.com | |
Tracy O'Neil Porter (born August 11, 1986) is an American football cornerback for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Saints in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Indiana.
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[edit] Early years
Porter attended Port Allen High School, where he played quarterback, running back, wide receiver, and cornerback. He earned first team All-District 3A honors in his first year of organized football as a junior and second-team as a senior after recording 93 tackles and 11 interceptions.
[edit] College career
Porter attended Indiana from 2004-2007. During his senior year he earned All-Big Ten Conference first-team. He finished his career second in Indiana Hoosiers history with 16 career interceptions and first in interception yards with 413. He also became the first player in school history to return a punt, interception and fumble for touchdowns in his career. He finished his career with 212 tackles and 16 interceptions.
[edit] Professional career
[edit] Pre Draft
Porter improved his draft stock with an impressive showing at the NFL Combine. His 4.37 40 yard dash time there was tied for the 10th fastest of all of the attending players and his 4.07 20 and 11.22 60 yard shuttle times were each tied for 4th fastest at the Combine.[1]
[edit] New Orleans Saints
Porter was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played in five games during his rookie season before being placed on injured reserve after dislocating his wrist.
Late in the 4th quarter of the Saints' dramatic come-from-behind win in Week 7 of their 2009 season, Porter intercepted the Dolphins' Chad Henne on 4th and long; his 54 yard return resulted in a touchdown, sealing their win and keeping their season undefeated, for the time being (they would lose at home in Week 15 to the Dallas Cowboys).
Midway through the 4th quarter of the NFC Championship game on January 24, 2010, with the Minnesota Vikings already in the red zone and driving towards a score, Porter punched the ball out of the hands of Vikings WR Bernard Berrian; the fumble was recovered by the Saints. Later, with less than a minute left in regulation, and the Vikings almost within range of a game-winning field goal, Porter intercepted a pass from Minnesota's QB Brett Favre, sending the game to overtime. The Saints later prevailed with a final score of 31-28.
Porter's clutch performance in the 2009-10 season continued late in the 4th quarter of Super Bowl XLIV vs. the Indianapolis Colts. With the Colts in Saints' territory, Tracy Porter jumped Colts WR Reggie Wayne's route and intercepted Peyton Manning's pass, returning the pick 74 yards for a touchdown. The score ended the Colts' hopes of a comeback and sealed New Orleans' first Super Bowl victory. In interviews after the game, Porter credited his pick to film study of the Colts' season. "I'd seen it over and over -- third down," Porter said. "That was a big route for them to convert on. Through the numerous amounts of film study that we've done all week in preparing for the Super Bowl... it all happened just like I was watching it on film. I made the break on it, and here comes the end zone."[2]
In the aftermath of the Super Bowl win, Porter was honored by his home town, Port Allen, which first jokingly renamed the city "Porter Allen" for a day in his honor,[3][4] then later named a street after him.[5]
[edit] References
- ^ Combine Top Performers
- ^ Aron Angel, "Saints' Porter jumps Wayne's route, runs into Super Bowl history", NFL.com, February 8, 2010.
- ^ Tyana Williams, "City changes its name to Porter Allen", WAFB, February 8, 2010.
- ^ Bradley Handwerger, "Saints CB Porter enjoying the moment, but ready to get back with teammates", WWL-TV, March 31, 2010.
- ^ Koran Addo, "Port Allen renames street to honor Porter", The Advocate (Baton Rouge, La.), April 20, 2010.
[edit] External links
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