His rookie season wasn't anything close to what cornerback Cory Trice Jr. anticipated, spending the entire year on the Reserve/Injured list after the promising cornerback was injured in training camp.
Trice, who was selected by the Steelers in the seventh round of the 2023 NFL Draft, the 241st overall pick, was a player the coaching staff was excited about right out of the gate.
"He played a lot of press coverage and that's huge," said secondary coach Grady Brown following the draft. "Just the way that he plays press, being able to go down and not play a motor technique, not back up, really just use that frame to just take up a lot of space and make guys work on the line of scrimmage.
"Really excited about getting him in here. He has some toughness. He started his career off as a safety. A high school basketball player. So just a lot of good things just from a coaching standpoint to work with and we're looking forward to getting him in here."
Trice is likely to come back even stronger in 2024, ready to tackle whatever is ahead of him.
He has a tattoo that says, "Only the strong survive." It's a tattoo he got before he came to the Steelers, one that tells the story of his journey, which included a serious injury at Purdue, and how he always fought through adversity.
"It was just about my time at Purdue, about where I came from and surviving adversity," said Trice after he was drafted. "I have seen guys go through adversity and just quit. I have seen guys go through adversity and never come back. I knew with what I went through in football and life, only the strong survive.
"You have to be strong in faith, with your spirit and have a strong support system around you. You are going to go through tough times, and you want to make sure you have the right people in your corner."
