Pittsburgh Steelers OLB Nick Herbig has been one of the team’s standouts during the preseason, with 2.5 sacks, including a strip sack in the team’s 27-15 win over the Buffalo Bills tonight. In an outside linebacker room with T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith and Markus Golden, there are no shortage of mentors for Herbig to learn from. After the game, he talked about learning from the veterans in the room.
“Yeah, a hundred percent. I mean, why wouldn’t I?” Herbig answered when asked about learning from his older counterparts. “I have three All-Pros in my room, and some of the best to ever touch the field at this position. So, you know, a wise man once said to be a sponge and soak up all the information that you can,” he said via the Steelers’ PR Department.
That’s the attitude that’s going to earn Herbig respect among his peers and also make him a much better player. The stuff he’s learned is already translating, and Herbig can also help teach his teammates. Highsmith said he’s trying to learn a pass-rush move from Herbig, and Herbig’s shown that his cross-chop can be lethal.
But in a room with two guys who have been among the league leaders in sacks in recent years in Highsmith and Watt, and another in Golden, who has had double-digit sacks multiple times and has arms around the same length as Herbig, there’s a lot he can learn. He and Watt have a previous relationship, both having attended Wisconsin, while he’s quickly acclimated himself to Highsmith and Golden, who he’s also talked about learning from.
Herbig has an incredibly high motor. If he can prove to be a sponge and soak up anything Highsmith, Watt and Golden want to share with him, Herbig has a good shot at succeeding. He’s going to have a role in this league with his motor and athleticism alone, but if he continues to develop pass rush moves and counters and learn from the rest of his room, he has the chance to be a really effective pass-rusher not only down the line, but as soon as this season.
He’s not going to start, but Herbig could push for more and more playing time, and his work in training camp and the preseason is really promising. His get-off is so fast, and while there are concerns about how he can hold up against the run, he did make a nice tackle for a loss against the run today.
The more Herbig learns, the better the chances are of him panning out in the NFL. He clearly realizes that, and it’s going to be fun to watch this outside linebacker room work this year.
