The gut instinct of a sixth round pick is to listen to his coaches. Disobey and risk getting cut. But one-time Pittsburgh Steelers rookie LB Mike Humpal should\u2019ve listened to James Harrison\u2019s advice instead. It wouldn\u2019t have guaranteed a place in the NFL but would\u2019ve promised Humpal\u2019s career lasting longer than one play.<\/p>\n
Flying solo on his Deebo & Joe podcast due to Joe Haden attempting to leave Mexico<\/a> from cartel violence, Harrison shared the story of the Steelers\u2019 rookie who got it wrong \u2013 and got himself severely hurt.<\/p>\n \u201cHe goes and tells this man to hit the wedge square,\u201d Harrison said of the special teams coaches teaching point to Humpal. \u201cThis is back when we they had the big offensive linemen as the two and three man wedges. They\u2019re locked up, shoulder-to-shoulder, they\u2019re coming down and they\u2019re taking on the four or the five, whoever is taking on the wedge.\u201d<\/p>\n The \u201cfour or the five\u201d referring to the middle coverage player on kickoffs, as you can see in this graph.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n Humpal played under the old-school kickoff model where there were few rules or restrictions. Return teams would lead with a \u201cwedge\u201d of players reminiscent of football\u2019s early years, two or three players linked together with the returner following behind. The coverage team would deploy a \u201cwedge buster\u201d whose mission was to run full-speed into the blockers and break them up. The violent nature of the play eventually outlawed the wedge and by extension, the wedge buster. But at the time, the play was kosher, if ill advised.<\/p>\n \u201cHe tells them, you come in there and you take on the wedge square,\u201d Harrison says of the coach told Humpal. \u201cAfter he tells him you take the wedge on square, after you hit it, turn your hip.<\/p>\n \u201cI said hey, Hump, if you do that shit, one, you might go to sleep. Two, you\u2019re going to get a hip pointer because they\u2019re going to bang the shit out of you.\u201d<\/p>\n Harrison, a special teamer for years before cracking the defensive lineup, advised Humpal to attack just one man of the wedge instead of running straight down the middle-of-them. He would then bounce off the first man and into the others, making it look like he was attacking them all, but still protecting himself from severe injury. A sixth-round rookie fighting to make the roster, Humpal ignored Harrison\u2019s advice and followed what his coach told him. Presumably, that was then-special teams coordinator Bob Ligashesky, a longtime coach who was still employed through last season before being replaced by the University of Minnesota<\/a> after 2025.<\/p>\n Humpal paid the price.<\/p>\n \u201cMike runs down there\u2026Mike hits the wedge square. He goes in and he hits the wedge square like this,\u201d Harrison said, showing the unsettling way<\/a> Humpal took on the block. \u201cThe same way Mike went in, Mike came straight out. From out his head, straight back to his neck, down through his ass, and onto his back. That is the first, last, only play that Mike Humpal played in the NFL. He never played another down.\u201d<\/p>\n Unfortunately, tracking down the clip is difficult to do and we couldn\u2019t find preseason tape from the 2008 opener against the Philadelphia Eagles. But Harrison\u2019s story isn\u2019t an exaggeration. Suffering a severe neck stinger, Humpal was placed on injured reserve after the game and missed his entire rookie season. Pittsburgh cut him the following February.<\/a> The impact of the injury followed Humpal into his post-playing days and caused him to retire, once admitting that by December of his rookie year, his career was over.<\/p>\n If there\u2019s any silver lining or twist of fate, the injury opened a door to Humpal\u2019s next chapter. Receiving regular chiropractic work to heal the injury, Humpal was inspired become a chiropractor himself. He now owns his own chiropractor business<\/a> in his home state of Iowa.<\/p>\n