Jim Harbaugh dishes on Herbert’s unbelievable grip strength in Titans game

Turns out, there's more to Herbert's game-day prep than meets the eye.

Kilty Cleary | Nov 12, 2024

Ken Blaze-Imagn Images / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

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Los Angeles Chargers

In classic Jim Harbaugh fashion, the Los Angeles Chargers head coach shared an incredible offseason story that will leave fans speechless. After Sunday’s game, Harbaugh couldn’t help but ask his star QB Justin Herbert how he managed to hold on to the ball so tightly and push it forward, all while getting hit just before halftime. Harbaugh had one big question: How did you not fumble that?!

Herbert’s response? “Carrying the bricks, Coach.” That’s right, bricks. Over the summer, the Chargers embarked on a unique team-building adventure: they hit up a Home Depot to gather bricks for a grip-strength training exercise.

Originally, this quirky plan was born from an idea by WRs coach Sanjay Lal, who had done the drill back in Seattle but couldn’t ship his trusty bricks to L.A. So, naturally, the team took matters into their own hands and picked up new ones.

Chargers HC Jim Harbaugh asked Justin Herbert how he held on to the ball and pushed it forward to avoid a fumble before halftime.

Justin's answer: "Carrying bricks, coach"

The team went on an adventure to Home Depot to get bricks meant for grip strength training over the summer… pic.twitter.com/hYwUCasfPn
— Alex Insdorf (@alexinsdorf99) November 12, 2024

It worked wonders. Herbert and the team spent their offseason lugging around bricks to strengthen their grip and improve ball control, a trick that might’ve just saved them a game. That one moment of “brick power” on Sunday was the payoff — a literal gripping example of how creative training can have a real impact.

If there’s one thing we’ve learned with Harbaugh and the Chargers, there's no idea that is too out there. And next time you see Herbert make another death-defying hold under pressure, just remember, it’s all thanks to a trip to Home Depot.

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