Steelers Invite Marshall DB Cory McCoy to Rookie Minicamp

The Pittsburgh Steelers have invited former Marshall defensive back Cory McCoy to their rookie minicamp, according to a report by Brady Regard of KPLC in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

McCoy attended rookie minicamp with the Baltimore Ravens last weekend, but was not offered a contract.

“This is just what I signed up for,” McCoy said to KPLC. “To be able to go out there and just continue to play football and make this a long-term job is a blessing in itself. It’s just a blessing itself. I just love it, I love football.”

McCoy is a 6-foot-2, 182-pound Anacoco, Louisiana native that got his college career stared at McNeese State in Louisiana. He made an immediate impact as a regular as a true freshman in 2017, then became a three-year starter from 2018-20 with the Cowboys.

In 39 career games at McNeese State, McCoy racked up 157 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, 27 passes defended, three forced fumbles and five interceptions. He was an All-Southland Conference selection in his final season with the Cowboys.

In 2021, McCoy transferred to Marshall, where he took off, recording 68 tackles, one sack, one forced fumble and two interception while being selected as the Thundering Herd defensive MVP.

McCoy will join Robert Morris cornerback Tavin Harvell, Waterloo (Ontario) defensive back Tyrell Ford and South Carolina cornerback Carlins Platel as tryouts in the team’s secondary this weekend.

RELATED: Steelers rookie minicamp tryout invites

The Steelers did not draft a defensive back with any of their seven selections in the 2022 NFL Draft, instead choosing to bring in undrafted free agents Chris Steele and Bryce Watts in addition to the rookie camp tryouts.

The team was active in the secondary during free agency. The Steelers brought in outside free agents Avery Wallace and Damontae Kazee, while re-signing Akhello Witherspoon, Terrell Edmunds, Arthur Maulet, Miles Killbrew and Karl Joseph.

The Steelers waived injured cornerback Isaiah Johnson on Tuesday, reducing the number of players at the position on the roster by one. The team’s 90-man roster is presently full, so for any rookie minicamp tryout to earn a contract, a player will have to be released from the roster.

Last year, the Steelers invited just five tryouts to rookie camp because of the league’s COVID-19 rules. None were offered contracts. Teams did not hold rookie camps in 2020. The team’s rookie minicamp starts Friday at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on the South Side and is scheduled to run for two days.