Rod Woodson shares advice for young Steelers corners, reflects on memories at Saint Vincent College

When asked for words of advice that he’d pass along to rookie cornerbacks Joey Porter Jr. and Cory Trice, Pittsburgh Steelers legend Rod Woodson kept it simple.

“No seams, no posts, no goes. OK? Don’t get beat deep,” Woodson said Thursday.

Those were the words from defensive coordinator Tony Dungy to Woodson when he first got into the NFL in 1987. And they became the foundation of what would eventually turn into a Hall of Fame career.

Once the likes of Porter Jr. and Trice master the ability to minimize big plays and keep the action in front of them, Woodson says the next step is to attack the game from the neck up so they can build their repertoire over time.

“Keep learning the game mentally. And you’ve got to keep playing the cat-and-mouse game with the quarterbacks and receivers,” Woodson continued. “You can’t show one thing and only do one thing as a corner. If you’re always pressed, and you’re always playing man, when you’re pressed, everybody knows it. They’ll gameplan you. But now you can press. You can bail. You can press-bail-stop. You can do all kinds of different things to receivers and quarterbacks. That’ll make them think about what you’re doing. But that comes with age.”

Woodson was at Steelers training camp as part of the franchise’s Ford “Drive for 10” promotion, which runs through December. He joined me on the “Breakfast With Benz” podcast during his visit to Saint Vincent College. We talked at length about the Steelers’ attention to the cornerback position during the offseason. Woodson patrolled that spot to the tune of five All-Pro seasons during his years in Pittsburgh.

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One thing Porter and Trice have going for them is size. Porter is 6-foot-2, 193 pounds. Trice is 6-foot-3, 206 — and looks bigger than that.

Woodson, who played at 6-foot and 205 pounds, says having size and length at the cornerback position is wonderful. But Trice and Porter have to remember to actually use it to their advantage.

“The size is great. Now you’ve got to play big,” Woodson said. “You’re a big physical guy coming off the bus. Do you play big? Or do you play small? I’ve seen big guys play small. I’ve seen small guys play big. So it depends on how they develop and how they play when they step onto the football field. Yeah, in college, they did play big. But this is not college.”

When that quote was passed along to Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, he said embracing that mindset would help Porter and Trice in a few specific areas of their game.

“That’s something you look for, the length component, particularly from a bump-and-run standpoint. That’s what you’re talking about when you’re talking about playing big at that position, high-pointing the ball and things. They’re going to have plenty of opportunity to display those skills,” Tomlin said.

Porter insists he’s aware of the natural size he has been given, and he never forgets to use it.

“I always try to use my size and length to my ability. That’s what God gave me. So I’m going to use it every day. My coaches always told me, ‘Why have this length and size and not use it?’ So I try to use it to the best of my ability,” Porter said on Tuesday.

Also, in Friday’s Bella Construction “Letters from Camp” podcast, Woodson and I flashback to his memories of training camps at Saint Vincent College, the highs and lows of those exciting ’90s Steelers teams, and his expectations for growth from some younger Steelers.