Herbert In NYC For Campbell Ceremony

NEW YORK — By the winter of 2017, Justin Herbert had already established himself as an elite football player and student at the University of Oregon.

Herbert, a native of Eugene, won the starting quarterback position for the Ducks as a true freshman, and was 6-2 as the starter during a sophomore season interrupted by injury. He was also named an academic all-American in that fall of 2017.

It was around that time that Oregon director of athletics Rob Mullens bumped into Steve Hatchell, president of the National Football Foundation. Among the duties of the NFF is to award the William V. Campbell Trophy, the "academic Heisman" that honors excellence in athletics, academics and leadership.

"We're going to have a finalist for you — and in our mind, we're going to have a winner for you," Mullens told Hatchell. "So stay tuned."

Herbert Flight NYC Campbell

On Tuesday, that prophecy could be fulfilled. Herbert arrived in Manhattan on Sunday evening, two days after leading the UO football team to a Rose Bowl berth by winning the Pac-12 Championship game. He's one of 12 finalists in the running for the Campbell Trophy, which will be awarded during the NFF's annual awards dinner Tuesday night.

Big Apple bound.
QB1 is headed to NYC for the @NFFNetwork William V. Campbell Trophy ceremony. #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/1g47ZGqfyJ
— Oregon Football (@oregonfootball) December 9, 2019

Herbert is the third finalist from Oregon in the 30-yard history of the Campbell Trophy, along with fellow quarterbacks Bill Musgrave and Dennis Dixon. Former Cal offensive lineman Alex Mack is the only player to have won the award while competing in the Pac-12 Conference.

"When you look down the list of award winners, and even finalists, the type of people you see are doctors, lawyers — a really, really impressive group," Mullens said Monday morning during a brunch to welcome the Herbert family to New York. "And a lot of great football players, too."

Mullens Brunch NYC Campbell

Herbert is certainly that, having moved up to sixth in Pac-12 history with 95 touchdowns passes and 16th in career passing yards with 10,403, after leading the Ducks over Utah in Friday's conference title game. He has a touchdown pass in 40 of his 41 career starts, and is the active leader in TD passes among Football Bowl Subdivision players.

Academically, Herbert carries a 4.01 grade-point average as a general science major who has taken a heavy load of biology courses. A three-time first-team academic all-American, Herbert on Monday was named Academic All-America Team Member of the Year for the second year in a row. He's the third two-time winner of that honor, joining former Florida quarterbacks Danny Wuerffel and Tim Tebow — both of who also won the Campbell Trophy.

Not one to betray his emotions often, Herbert has been a lead-by-example type for most of the past four years. But Mullens on Monday told a story of Herbert's leadership that resonated with the UO athletic director.

Mullens Herbert Brothers NYC Campbell

It also was from the winter of 2017, when Mullens and his staff were finalizing the search for a new football coach. Oregon players had gone public with their support for the candidacy of then-assistant Mario Cristobal, at a time when the athletic department already was deep in negotiations to finalize Cristobal's hiring.

That's when Mullens' phone rang, the caller ID showing a prominent name: Justin Herbert.

"I said, this is either going to be really good, or really difficult," Mullens recounted at Monday's brunch. "And he said, 'As a leader on the team, I just felt like I wanted you to know that, in terms of student-athlete experience and student-athlete confidence, we believe in Mario Cristobal.'

"That was a really good moment. It was very reassuring. And that's the leader Justin Herbert is. He stood up for his teammates and came forward at an important time, to cement our decision."

Just two days shy of two years after Cristobal was announced as the Ducks' head coach, he, Herbert and the rest of Oregon's players and staff were celebrating a Pac-12 championship. On Tuesday night, the program hopes to be celebrating a Campbell Trophy winner, as well.