Nick Herbig says he was 'born to be a Steeler' after dominant effort against Buccaneers

Nick Herbig had a dominant Pittsburgh Steelers debut during the preseason opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Friday.

In the 27-17 victory, Herbig recorded a team-high 1.5 sacks and two quarterback hits in just 13 snaps, having his way with the right side of the Buccaneers’ offensive line. It was a performance reminiscent of what we’ve seen from teammate T.J. Watt, another former Wisconsin standout. Watt, however, was expected to tear it up in the NFL being a first-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft.

Herbig was a fourth-round pick in April’s NFL Draft, making his immediate dominance all that more spectacular. For Herbig, being in the iconic black and gold just felt right.

“I feel like I was born to be a Steeler,” Herbig said after the game, via the team’s website. “I’m supposed to be here. I’m supposed to be wearing that black and yellow, black and gold, sorry. I feel the black and gold running through my veins right now. It just feels like exactly what God wanted for me.”

Pick your poison.

Nick Herbig or T.J. Watt.#Badgers pic.twitter.com/fKDTgaRAFU

— Evan Flood (@Evan_Flood) August 12, 2023

During his time at Wisconsin, Herbig emerged as one of the best pass-rushers in the Big Ten, turning into a first-team All-Big Ten selection and a second-team All-American as a junior in 2022. In three years he posted some terrific numbers as a pass-rusher, logging 137 tackles, 36.0 tackles for loss, 21.0 sacks, four forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and seven passes defended. As a junior in 2022 alone he racked up 15.5 tackles for loss and 11.0 sacks.

Nick Herbig impresses in NFL debut, building towards carving out a role in rookie season

Head coach Mike Tomlin came away impressed with Herbig’s debut, but emphasized that there’s even more room to grow.

“There’s a lot of teaching and learning that needs to happen based on the result of what just happened,” Tomlin said of the young players who stood out, via Steelers Depot. “It just is. I think it’s reasonable to expect us to be significantly better next week.”

For now, it looks like the Steelers have found a fourth-round steal in Herbig, and the perfect piece to pair alongside Watt and Alex Highsmith, who had a career-high 14.5 sacks in 2022.