Steelers training camp at Saint Vincent College is off to a hot start -- literally, with heat indexes flirting with triple-digits. However, this new secondary, led by a three-headed monster at cornerback and the most efficient tackling safety in the NFL, might be even hotter.

Adding Darius Slay and Jalen Ramsey to Joey Porter Jr. at cornerback gives the position more strength than it's had in years. It's one thing for it to look great on paper. It's something else for it to translate to the football field. And so far at training camp, despite DeShon Elliott's attempt to pour water on it, they've had about as good of a start as anyone can imagine.

"We're decent. We're not there yet," Elliott said. "We're making plays. We're trying to communicate. We have some new faces in the secondary. Those guys are just trying to find their place in our home, on our team. I think they're doing a good job of communicating, picking the defense up."

Don't let Elliott fool you. The trio of Porter, Slay and Ramsey have made their fair share of plays throughout the first three practices of training camp. Ramsey has multiple passes defensed, and he intercepted Aaron Rodgers Saturday afternoon by making a leaping catch undercutting a route by Jonnu Smith.

Porter's also been tasked most often with taking on DK Metcalf, one of the physical receivers in the NFL. There have been some wins and some losses on both sides. During Friday's seven shots drill, Porter defended Metcalf as tightly as possible on a back shoulder fade which wound up incomplete. On Saturday, Metcalf shoved Porter off the line on a quick slant, in which Rodgers fired it between the numbers for the score. But also, Porter blanketed Metcalf down the sideline on a go route from Rodgers, forcing him out of bounds for a ball that was sensationally caught but out of play.

Porter's expected these kind of battles, and they're only going to intensify as camp continues on:

"At the end of the day, it's iron sharpening iron," Porter said. "We've got talks about how we're trying to get better at the end of the day. He's going to push me to my limits, and I'm going to try to push him to his. At the end of the day, we're on the same team, so we're just trying to get better."

There's also another layer to this secondary. Elliott is a rock solid safety that is spending most of his time being in the right spot, having to stop himself from plowing offensive players through the sod of Chuck Noll Field. Juan Thornhill has been active at free safety, showing no signs of being any kind of liability. In addition, Chuck Clark has been flying to the ball ever since his signing was announced minutes before Friday's practice.

Then, there's some very intriguing depth at cornerback. Brandin Echols has had multiple pass breakups, and Cory Trice Jr. is having a phenomenal camp. Trice has been breaking up passes all over the field, whether it be on go routes or over the middle like he did Saturday, separating Jonnu Smith from a would-be completion from Rodgers.

Trice has been praised by his teammates for his work ethic, which is reaping benefits in the early stages of camp.

"That's the only thing that saving my whole life is work," Trice told me after Saturday's practice. "I always work hard. It's the only thing that's saved me. It's got me to this point, so I'm going to keep living and dying by it."

Just as Elliott said, there's a long way to go. Players don't even go in full pads until Tuesday. The first preseason game isn't for another two weeks. As far as getting off to a good start, this secondary is checking every box. But, it's only the beginning.

"Just one day at a time," Elliott said. "It's Day 2, Day 3? Give us another month, I think we'll be right on it."