Justin Herbert didn’t play a single snap in the Los Angeles Chargers preseason but earned high praise from new coach Jim Harbaugh for his leadership prowess in an unexpected dilemma Friday. According to Harbaugh, Herbert was one of 11 or 12 Chargers stuck in a hotel elevator in Dallas ahead of the Chargers’ third preseason game.
“You get in those situations, and it’s a test of wills,” Harbaugh said Saturday after the Chargers defeated the Dallas Cowboys. “I was proud of each of the guys and the two women that were on that elevator. That’s a win. You feel good about yourself. You were challenged. It was a test of will, and you pull it down, or pull it in.”
Among the people stuck in the elevator was Jeri Fouts, the wife of Hall of Famer Dan Fouts. The group was trapped without air conditioning for two hours before being rescued by Dallas Fire-Rescue.
The crowded Texas elevator left the party members dripping in sweat when they were removed one by one through a ceiling panel, Harbaugh said.
Every person except Herbert, that is.
“Justin Herbert, his hair was a little wet, but his shirt was completely dry,” Harbaugh said. “That was another thing that blew me away. The guy is just a beast.”
“The remarkable things that came out of it was, to a guy, young rookie players, ‘Justin Herbert’s a leader. He was a rock. Kept everybody calm,’” Harbaugh said. “Jeri Fouts told me the same thing, pulled me aside after they got out, just how great Justin was. And everybody kept their poise.”
In typical Harbaugh fashion, the fiery coach was both impressed by how his star quarterback took charge of the situation, but also wished he could’ve been part of the shared experience.
“It was like, ‘Wish I could have been there with those guys.’ But Justin Herbert was,” he said.
Harbaugh later thanked the Dallas Fire Department for their efforts, noting that things could have been a lot worse if the group was trapped for more hours.
The Chargers will kick off their season against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sep. 8, and Harbaugh said their elevator situation Friday was a key step in the team getting “good at making yourself harder to break.”
“Who’s got it better than those guys that were on that elevator?!” he asked.
Required reading
(Photo: Harry How / Getty Images)
