If you didn’t know that Nick Herbig is second only to T.J. Watt in the NFL in forced fumbles, I wouldn’t blame you. Who would think a non-starter who has missed a third of the season would rank so high in a key category? But that’s the kind of production that earns you honorifics from the likes of Steelers HC Mike Tomlin. He got the Mr. Herbig treatment after his latest forced fumble, via strip-sack, recovered and returned for a touchdown by Payton Wilson.
And it was a long time coming—although it wasn’t Herbig’s first. Appearing on the Christian Kuntz podcast, he recalled his saga from Little to Mr. And how the margin between the two is thinner than you might think.
“It started the San Fran game my rookie year. We were playing the Niners and they had [George] Odum”, Herbig recalled, Odum being a celebrated special teamer. “[Tomlin] was like, ‘That’s Mr. Odum to you, Herbig!’. He called me Little Herbig”.
“I think ever since that it just became its thing with me”, Herbig continued. “Like, every time he saw me it was ‘51’ or ‘Little Herbig’ or ‘Young Herbig’. And then that Seattle game, I gave him the ball after the strip-sack. And he, said, ‘Thank you, Mr. Herbig’. I said, ‘Let’s go! Let’s go!’”.
A 2023 fourth-round pick, Nick Herbig had to maximize opportunities behind T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith last season. On a per-snap basis, he did produce at a high level, with his highlight moment coming against the Seahawks. Midway through the fourth quarter, Herbig got around the edge and dislodged the ball from Geno Smith. He then proceeded to recover the loose ball himself. Unfortunately, the broadcast did not capture the moment he references when he handed Tomlin the ball.
Nick Herbig recalls that moment as a pivotal one in his career, a moment in which he “blacked out”, having had the opportunity to come up big in such a critical moment for his team. That was his first Mr. Herbig, but it wasn’t his last. He re-upped on the honor in recent weeks from Tomlin, he confirmed.
“He did. Yeah. But he was kind of playing with me earlier. When I came back from my injury, he came in the weight room, and I’m working out with T.J. and he’s like, ‘Stay away from Mr. Watt, Herbig!’. He was like, ‘You lost the Mr. already’! I was like, ‘Damn, so you can just give it to me and take it away?’. He said, ‘You’re damn right’”!
When it comes to those on other teams, Mike Tomlin only publicly hands out the Mr. to select elite players like Lamar Jackson and Nick Chubb. That is merely a sign of respect to truly deserving opponents. When it comes to his own players, he clearly wields it as a motivational tool. Herbig doesn’t want to be Little anymore.
