NFF National Scholar-Athletes
Justin Herbert, QB – University of Oregon
4.01 GPA - General Science
Head Coach: Mario Cristobal | Athletics Director: Rob Mullens
Faculty Athletics Representative: Tim Gleason
Maintaining a remarkable 4.01 GPA, Justin Herbert is the reigning Football Academic All-American of the Year and ranks in the top four in nearly every Oregon passing category. The home-grown native of Eugene, Oregon, becomes the Ducks’ third NFF National Scholar-Athlete.
Herbert is set to graduate this December with a degree in science, and he plans to attend medical school one day. The 2018 Academic All-American of the Year has twice been named a First Team Academic All-American. He is a two-time First Team Academic All-District selection and a two-time Academic All-Pac-12 honoree.
This season, Herbert has guided the Ducks to a 7-1 start and the No. 7 ranking while completing 179 passes for 2,104 yards, the second-most passing yards in the Pac-12. A semifinalist for the 2019 Maxwell Award, his 21 passing touchdowns rank second in the Pac-12 and are tied for eighth in the FBS, and his 15 touchdown passes through the first five games of the season matched an Oregon record. Herbert is one of only two FBS quarterbacks in 2019 with 20 touchdown passes and one or fewer interceptions, having not thrown an interception in 131 consecutive pass attempts, the second-longest active streak in the nation. He was named Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week after completing 24 passes for 280 yards and four touchdowns in Oregon's 35-31 win at then-No. 25 Washington on Oct. 19.
Herbert currently ranks second in Ducks’ history in career passing yards (9,174), touchdown passes (84) and completions (720), trailing only Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota in all three categories. The two-year captain’s career pass attempts (1,127) rank third in Oregon annals while his .639 completion percentage is tied for second. A semifinalist for the 2018 Davey O’Brien and Maxwell awards, Herbert earned Phil Steele First Team All-Pac-12 honors that season after becoming just the fifth Duck quarterback with a 3,000-yard passing season. The first true freshman to start at quarterback for Oregon since 1983, he became the fastest player in program history to reach 4,000 passing yards (17 games) and 5,000 passing yards (21 games). Herbert has led the Ducks to consecutive bowl berths, including a win over Michigan State in the 2018 Redbox Bowl.
Active off the field, Herbert participated in the O Heroes “Court for Kids” service trip to Uganda in 2018, and he has helped prepare Thanksgiving baskets for disadvantaged families for multiple years. He has hosted local school children at football practices and appeared at various community service events the last three years, including field days, sports award programs and Special Olympics events.
