Steelers Will Give Nick Herbig Shot in Regular Season
PITTSBURGH -- Nate Herbig loves watching his little brother Nick play and he's gotten plenty of chances to do that now that the siblings are teammates on the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Herbig's been sidelined with an injury lately so he's had plenty of time to do his favorite activity - watching Nick dominate like he did in the Steelers' 24-0 victory over the Atlanta Falcons last week.
"I love watching him kill tackles," he said.
The younger Herbig has been an impressive pass rusher this preseason, racking up 3.5 sacks in just three games, but head coach Mike Tomlin is challenging the 2023 fourth-round pick to expand his game.
With Alex Highsmith and T.J. Watt expected to eat up the vast majority of snaps, Herbig's opportunity to make an impact is limited, so he's working on being more than just a pass-rush specialist.
"He's getting a lot of notice because of his rushing but that's just a component of his game and play," Tomlin said. "He's got to be good against the run, he's got to be skilled and productive in the kicking game and so there's a lot of things that a young guy needs to work on and focus on."
Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin has been impressed with Herbig so far and thinks that even with a limited snap count, he can be an impact player.
Austin said his skills as a run defender are coming along, but still good enough that Herbig can't be targeted by opposing offenses. That means he'll be able to make an outsized impact upon a smaller snap count.
"There'll be reps," Austin said. "And no matter how many he gets, I think he'll do something with them. Even if he's a 10, 15, 20-play guy, then I think he'll do a great job with them."
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