Porter Grateful For Family Support

Prior to his commitment to Notre Dame, we heard from Geordon Porter‍’s father, George.

Porter, who went public with his pledge to the Irish on Wednesday, and his brother, Grant, who is sophomore cornerback at Washington State, have accomplished plenty in their careers so far, but their father was a standout in his sport in his day.

A track star at USC, George Porter told us how his boys finally gained an appreciation for his speed when they found out his was the record Robert Griffin III was chasing – and never caught – in high school.

“At first, I was like, ‘Oh yeah, he was just a 300-hurdler. That’s great,’” Geordon recalled. “When he was talking about RGIII trying to break his record, I started to realize that was pretty big.”

George Porter talked about teaching his kids the value of competition, but it nature as well as nurture, according to Geordon.

“It just came naturally,” said Geordon. “It comes out in video games, basketball games, just all types of things. I like to win. Basically, it’s in our DNA.”

Geordon gained a lot from watching his brother go through the college recruiting process a couple years back.

“It was a lot of help,” the 2018 California wide receiver said. “It showed me you have to really be careful with who you choose. Obviously, he picked the right school for him, but you have to choose the coaches and see what’s the best fit for you.”

And now that he’s in a college program, Grant continues to pass along advice his brother will be able to use when he arrives in South Bend this summer.

“He told me just to stay focused and not get too big-headed about it,” Geordon said. “Since he’s been there, he basically told me to work hard and come to camp ready. That was the main thing, coming into school, you have to be ready for that fall camp to show the coaches what you can do.”

It’s not just his father and brother who have helped though. Porter’s mother earned a track scholarship and his younger sister, Kennedi, is already showing promise as a track standout.

“My whole family has been a lot of support,” he said. “Both parents went through the process, they both got scholarships for track. The vine just gets better and better as you go down. We just have new learning experiences and the support just gets better and better.”

But Porter knows if he’s going to achieve his greatest goal, reaching the NFL, he needs to be the one who wants it; more than that, he needs to be the one who needs it.

“You just have to set a goal and not worry about anything else,” he said of his mindset.

“It’s one of those goals where you have to do it. It’s not like, 'Oh, maybe I’ll do it.' You have to do it. You need it. You can’t really live without it.”