Throughout his rookie season, Nick Herbig was called a sponge. Someone willing and able to soak up everything T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith did. It led Herbig to have a highly efficient and exciting rookie season despite limited and inconsistent playing time. Entering his sophomore year, Herbig continues to follow Watt and Highsmith’s footsteps.
Earlier, we wrote Herbig was one of three Steelers working with pass rush specialist Dez Walker. Posting a clip of the session to his Instagram story, Walker showed Herbig rep an inside spin move. One that Highsmith has perfected and one of his favorite counters in “gotta have it” situations on third down and key moments of the game.
You can see Herbig set the “tackle” (the orange dummy) outside and then spin back inside, using his left arm as the “ice pick” to not allow the tackle to reach back and shove Herbig upfield.
Highsmith has among the league’s best spin move that’s created easy wins and plenty of pressure. Offensive tackles adjusted to it late last season and the move worked less often, but it’s a tool in his toolbelt that’s potent for the unsuspecting blocker.
Now, Herbig is attempting to add it to his arsenal. It’s not a move to be deployed all the time but used after setting up the tackle on the edges or if his set cheats wide to try and protect the corner. Like Highsmith, Herbig can win in plenty of ways and his athleticism allows him to bend through the corner with ease.
It’s not the first time Herbig’s studied Highsmith’s move. In gaining his first NFL sack against the Los Angeles Rams last year, Herbig said he used the same move Highsmith won with earlier in the game to beat the Rams left tackle.
As a rookie, Nick Herbig finished with 27 tackles (5 for a loss) with 3 sacks and 2 forced fumbles. Impressive numbers considering he played only 191 total defensive snaps. Per our charting, Herbig averaged a pressure once every 7.7 snaps, a better rate than T.J. Watt. More volume will normalize those numbers but Herbig should have a strong sophomore year. And offensive tackles might find out what’s in his bag of tricks.
