(Purdue Athletics Photo)
Cory Trice had to wait a little longer than expected and more than he would have liked, but the former Purdue cornerback and Christian County Colonel was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the seventh round of the NFL Draft Saturday.
Trice is the third player from Hopkinsville taken in the draft in the last 20 years and only the second Kentucky high school player (Michael Meyer – Covington Catholic) selected in this year’s draft.
The Steelers are going big in its secondary. They selected 6-foot-2 Joey Porter Jr. at the cornerback spot earlier in the day.
Trice started 24 games in five seasons at Purdue with 13 coming last season where he had two interceptions, and 34 tackles (28 solo).
He was an honorable mention All-Big Ten selection in 2022 after appearing in just two games in 2021 because of a knee injury.
In 30 games as a Boilermaker, Trice registered 106 tackles, 15 pass deflections, and five interceptions.
Despite missing four games with a foot injury during his senior season at Christian County High School, Trice was named First Team All-State and was the Class 5A District One Player of the Year. He scored six touchdowns – three on defense and three on special teams – in 2017 and finished with 14 career interceptions.
Several NFL insiders projected him as a fourth or fifth-round pick and he was Mel Kiper Jr.’s ‘best available player’ from the middle of the fifth round until he was taken in the seventh round with the 241st pick.
On ESPN’s broadcast of the NFL Draft Saturday, Louis Riddick said Trice “could be a steal.”
Trice joins Keith Tandy, taken by Tampa Bay in the sixth round of the 2012 draft, and Artose Pinner, taken in the fourth round in 2003, as players from Hopkinsville drafted in the past two decades.
