West Virginia CB Porter seeing confidence grow
The season opener against Maryland seems like ages ago in the development of Daryl Porter.
The redshirt freshman was active against the Terrapins but was beaten on a 66-yard touchdown in the first quarter in his first significant action at the college football level.
In the three games since, Porter has permitted only one other touchdown in his coverage and has started to build some much-needed confidence required to play at the cornerback position.
That was evident on his pass breakup against Oklahoma where he tipped the ball and it dropped into the hands of fellow defensive back Jackie Matthews for an interception. Porter likely isn’t in position to make that play a few weeks ago and a large reason for that is how comfortable he’s becoming.
“The game starts to slow down, and you see that growth and with that comes confidence,” coordinator Jordan Lesley said. “I thought Saturday was the first time I’ve seen Daryl play that way.”
It isn’t an unexpected development for the Florida native as he made waves during the fall of last year only to fizzle out once the season began. During the 2020 season, Porter played only 17 snaps in his two appearances on the field at cornerback but also saw time on special teams.
Like almost all freshmen a year ago due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Porter was cheated out of the normal experiences that come with the adjustment to college. That put him behind in his development which meant that natural growth track was going to take some time.
But Porter started to show flashes toward the end of spring intercepting a pass and recording two pass breakups while recording a tackle during the annual Gold-Blue game.
And he’s put in the work to accelerate that process.
“He’s been able to play with great confidence and he’s a great young player for us,” senior safety Alonzo Addae said. “Definitely I know he’s watching film and getting better each and every week.”
Confidence and a short memory was critical for success at that spot and as long as Porter demonstrates that he possesses those two traits there is even more room for improvement. It’s been a wild, short ride for Porter so far this season, but it appears he is ready to take on a larger role.
“Hopefully we can continue that,” Lesley said.
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