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Steelers Rookie LB Teaching Veterans

Nick Herbig has been teaching the Pittsburgh Steelers' stars a thing or two.

Stephen Thompson

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LATROBE -- At the beginning of training camp, it was the Pittsburgh Steelers' veterans bringing the rookies along. Superstar defender T.J. Watt helped turn Nick Herbig into a pass-rushing menace by teaching the first-year outside linebacker his signature "ghost move" earlier this month, but the tables turned by the time training camp at St. Vincent College hit its final day. 

Now, another star edge rusher for the Steelers is taking tips from Herbig himself, who has built his own impressive array of pass-rush moves during an impressive debut training camp. 

"He's got a cool little jump-through move that I've been trying to learn," Alex Highsmith said. "It's like a little stab and jump-through. He's got a nice arsenal for him coming in as a rookie."

Highsmith likened the jump-through to a basketball staple, the Euro step. The rusher fakes one way to freeze the blocker and leaps the other direction off of a quick first step. 

"You set a lot of stuff up with that Euro step, trying to make all the rushes look the same and then set up something else," he said. 

Herbig's ascent from fourth-round pick with size concerns to training camp star has been one of the biggest stories of camp and it's helped the Steelers feel confident that they have a corps of pass rushers deep enough for the rigors of a 17-game regular season. 

"There's a standard no matter who comes in," Highsmith said. "You have to be able to come in and be able to produce and I definitely see that in Nick and Markus [Golden]. ... I'm excited for us, for our depth and I think we have a quality group of guys at our position."

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Stephen Thompson
STEPHEN THOMPSON

Stephen Thompson graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications and political science from Pitt in April 2022 after spending four years as a sports writer and editor at The Pitt News, the University of Pittsburgh's independent, student-run newspaper. He primarily worked the Pitt men's basketball beat, and filled in on coverage of football, volleyball, softball, gymnastics and lacrosse, in addition to other sports as needed. His work at The Pitt News has won awards from the Pennsylvania News Media Association and Associated College Press. During the spring and summer of 2021, Stephen interned for Pittsburgh Sports Now, covering baseball in western Pennsylvania. Hailing from Washington D.C., family ties have cultivated a love of Boston's professional teams and Pitt athletics, and a fascination with sports in general. 

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