Nick Herbig made the biggest play of his career to date in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 30-23 win over the Seattle Seahawks. It was a crucial play in a big moment as the Seahawks had plenty of time to get down the field and tie the game up with seven minutes remaining and two timeouts. The play set up the Steelers’ offense inside the red zone, and they went on to kick a field goal to make it a two-possession game with just over four and a half minutes remaining.
T.J. Watt spoke to the media on Tuesday afternoon after practice in a video posted on the Steelers’ website and was asked about his visible excitement for Herbig on the field following the play.
“It’s those first big plays of your career for those first couple years, I’ve talked about it a lot, is you blackout,” Watt said on Herbig’s state after the big play. “You don’t really know what’s going on. You’re just so excited. So I was just trying to coach him through the moment, ‘Hey, let’s hit the handshake real quick, let’s have some fun.’…I was kind of just walking him through the process of the whole thing.”
The two are connected by their alma mater, the University of Wisconsin. Naturally, Herbig has tried to model his game after Watt. It only makes sense, seeing that he has one of the best edge rushers in the game practicing with him every day. Watt was asked if he enjoys the role of being a mentor in the locker room.
“Yeah, I do,” Watt continued. “I don’t have those blackout moments. I’m able to actually enjoy things, slow things down, and realize in the moment how special they are. And things like that, it is just a fun moment in my career that I’ll remember forever.”
Watt’s mentorship appears to be paying off for Herbig. As a rookie behind two highly-paid veteran edge rushers, he doesn’t get a ton of opportunities, but he has made the most of the ones he gets. In 178 defensive snaps, he has logged seven total pressures, three sacks, two forced fumbles, and five tackles for loss. When he was drafted in the fourth round, many wondered if he would convert to inside linebacker due to his 6’2″, 240-pound stature. He has proven that he can be an effective pass rusher in the NFL and should be a solid third-rotational edge rusher for years to come.
Check out the clip of Watt talking about this from his media availability here.
