Few quarterbacks looked as impressive as Oregon football’s Justin Herbert in 2016, but can he continue the climb to stardom in 2017?
There’s no doubting the struggles that Oregon football faced in 2016 during Mark Helfrich’s last year in Eugene. In fact, the Ducks went 4-8 just two seasons after making an appearance in the College Football Playoff behind quarterback Marcus Mariota.
However, things are looking up in Eugene after the hire of former South Florida head coach Willie Taggart. He can turn things around with the help of Oregon’s promising quarterback Justin Herbert.
The Oregon offense looks like it will be able to compete with just about any team in the Pac-12. Most of the question marks are on the defensive side of the ball. Herbert and running back Royce Freeman should form one of the better quarterback/running back combinations in the entire country.
If nothing else, the strength of the running back position alone should help the Ducks notch a few wins this season.
The Pac-12 looks like one of the better conferences in the country this season. Washington, USC, Colorado and Utah all have high expectations and should start near or inside the AP Top 25 in 2017. That’s a lot for a younger quarterback like Herbert to handle; that could also be a factor as to why he’s such an underrated quarterback right now.
You don’t think about Herbert when you think of even the best quarterbacks in the Pac-12. Most people would jump to USC’s Sam Darnold, UCLA’s Josh Rosen, Washington State’s Luke Falk, Washington’s Jake Browning and even Utah’s Troy Williams. However, Herbert should be up there with the Darnolds and Brownings of the world after it’s all said and done in 2017.
Last season, Herbert threw for nearly 2,000 and had 21 total touchdowns in just seven starts. Moreover, he never threw more interceptions than touchdowns in every game he appeared in. Herbert is efficient and has the ability to keep up with almost any opponent — he even threw six touchdowns in a loss to Cal last season. More than anything, the team around Herbert needs to improve.
It looks like people are starting to see that Herbert could be a potential Heisman dark-horse candidate this year, but there’s still a long ways to go until he gets the respect he ultimately deserves. Herbert’s abilities to lead the Oregon offense were already shown off in 2016 and should only improve in 2017.
The biggest thing keeping the young quarterback from getting good recognition on a national stage is the pedigree of the Ducks. As soon as they can start winning again, and getting to be a perennial Top 25 every single week, look for Herbert and the entire Ducks roster to get more attention.
According to Athlon Sports, Herbert is just the 22nd-best quarterback in the country. That does rank in the top 20 percent of quarterbacks in college football but he’s still behind guys like Georgia’s Jacob Eason, Boise State’s Brett Rypien and Arkansas’ Austin Allen. Those are all names he could easily surpass in just the first few weeks of the season.
Four of the first five games on the schedule come against teams like Arizona State, Wyoming and Southern Utah, all teams with suspect defenses that Herbert could exploit.
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If you are looking for names to watch that could come out of nowhere to become big stars this season, look no further than Herbert. He’s in a great situation with Taggart’s offensive system and the Ducks are primed for a comeback season in 2017. The future looks bright in Eugene with Herbert behind center.