Nick Herbig had some great mentors entering the National Football League, but he too learned some things the hard way. Experience tends to be the best teacher, though, and he’s learned what he needs to do to avoid repeating mistakes. Speaking about his career leading up to his recent $100 million extension, he recalled a sobering moment from his rookie season.
“I had to learn that the hard way, because I thought it was like, I’ll just stretch and I’m ready to go”, Nick Herbig told teammate Cam Heyward on his Not Just Football podcast about learning to be a professional and the work required. “But there’s so much more outside of the facility you have to do to prepare yourself for when you do get that opportunity, because you don’t know when it’s gonna come”.
Specifically, he recalled the Week 14 game of his rookie season against the Patriots, with some regret. It was his first opportunity for extended playing time, but the circumstances allowing it occurred in-game, and he wasn’t prepared.
“I end up playing 80 plays, and I don’t think I was ready for that. I always look back at that moment and remind myself, ‘Don’t ever let that happen again’”, Herbig said. The playing time referenced includes special teams, which largely consist of sprinting. “Danny Smith, he wasn’t taking me off that. So I had to be ready for all of that, and I wasn’t. So I’d look at that moment and go back to that sometimes and be like, ‘I don’t want that to happen again’”.
Herbig actually played 70 snaps that game, including 45 on defense and 25 on special teams. But those were season highs in both phases, occurring simultaneously. Prior to that game, Herbig had never played more than 17 defensive snaps in a game, and was mostly in the low- to mid-single digits. He wouldn’t hit 20-plus snaps in a game again until the following season.
While T.J. Watt played the majority of that game, Alex Highsmith was knocked out after 17 snaps. Both Highsmith and Watt ended up in the concussion protocol, but fortunately for Nick Herbig, they managed to clear in time for the next game.
Herbig did record 7 tackles in that game, including 1 for loss, only one of them on special teams. But he was gassed, and he knew he put his team in some bad positions. Now he trains with T.J. Watt in the offseason, and his special teams duties have lessened considerably.
But the Steelers still have to figure out how to play all of their pass rushers this year. They have three making good money now, with Herbig joining that group. In theory, they should all play about 70 percent of the snaps, though Jack Sawyer should see some work as well. And I’m sure Herbig is letting Sawyer know what he needs to do to be ready for his moment.
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