Page 20 - Sports Illustrated KIDS Magazine (January - February 2020)

(He recently downloaded the just been so
video-sharing app TikTok but doesn’t
have his own account; he just likes
to watch funny videos.)
He lives in an apartment in
downtown Eugene, away from
campus, because “he likes to be a
little bit outside of everything,” says
offensive lineman Charlie Landgraf,
Herbert’s roommate.
So as Herbert’s NFL stock rose in
the fall of 2018, he was one of the last
to know. Landgraf tried without
success to show Herbert mock
drafts and stories he came across on
Twitter, but each time he passed his
phone to his roommate, Herbert hit
the power button to lock the screen.
“We had a conversation about that,”
Herbert says, “and he’s been really
good about not sending me that
stuff anymore.”
THE NEXT LEVEL
Herbert has had a different path to
the top from most elite quarterbacks
of his generation. He was a three-
sport athlete (football, basketball,
and baseball) at Sheldon High.
Other QBs his age—and younger—
spent countless hours (and dollars) on
private coaching. Herbert did a single
session with a private coach in
Portland, one hour for $100. When
his dad, Mark, asked him how it
went, Justin just shrugged. He never
went back.
“I enjoyed basketball and baseball
too much to let football take over,”
Justin says. “I miss playing those
sports right now. I wanted to make
sure I got those years. I didn’t want to
look back and realize I missed them.”
Because of that team-first, well-
rounded-athlete background, Mark
thinks Justin didn’t seriously see
himself as an NFL QB until he
received a first-round grade from the
college advisory committee last
December. “I still don’t think of
myself that way,” Justin says. “We’ve
18 / SPORTS ILLUSTRATED KIDS
focused here
that I haven’t
even thought
about the NFL
too much.”
In order to
improve as a
senior, Herbert
set two
main goals: JUST DOING IT
Understand the Herbert led the
Ducks to the Pac-12
game better and
championship, Oregon’s
become a more first conference title in
mature leader. five years.
To accomplish
the first, he’s
spending 12 to
15 more hours in the film room each Rose Bowl berth.
week. (He has only one online course Justin is so competitive that Pat
this semester: Anthropology 365, says he would sometimes purposely
Food and Culture.) lose to him when they played video
Herbert wakes up around 5:30 games so he didn’t have to deal with
each morning to head to the football an angry brother. That competitive
facility, and he doesn’t get home fire combined with his maturity
until around 8 p.m. He does most of helped him lead a contender for
his solitary film study in the fourth- the College Football Playoff, which
floor quarterbacks’ meeting room, sent an important signal to
which Arroyo calls Herbert’s office. NFL evaluators.
“I’ve told him we’ll get him a cot and “He has definitely been more
a little fridge to put in the corner consistent,” says Jim Nagy, director
if he wants,” says coach of the Reese’s Senior Bowl. “That was
Mario Cristobal. a knock on Justin last year. He had
The work paid off. some peaks and valleys in his play.
Herbert’s completion He always made those wow throws,
percentage increased but now he is hitting more
to 66.7% (from of that routine stuff that he
59.4% last would miss in
season) past years.”
both
because FAMILY TIES
he understands more One Saturday morning last fall,
about reading coverages Justin and Pat were eating
and because Arroyo fixed breakfast on the fifth floor of
mechanical issues with the hotel where the team
Herbert’s front shoulder and stays the night before home
back foot. He threw for 3,333 games. From the balcony,
yards and 32 touchdowns, with they could see their house.
just five interceptions. And he The sun was shining JAMIE SCHWABEROW (2)
became a more vocal leader as he led bright, and Mark was
the Ducks to an 11–2 record and a busy blowing leaves