He’s not just the prototypical passer. To Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh, dual-threat quarterback isn’t even the right classification for what Justin Herbert can do.
“Justin could play tight end in the National Football League,” Harbaugh said. “He could be an edge rusher. He could do all those things because of his speed, strength, his agility, his athleticism. It’s off the charts.”
After rushing for three highlight-reel plays last week against the Tennessee Titans — a four-yard touchdown, an ankle-breaking juke and a defender-dropping pump-fake — Herbert is only beginning to reveal his athleticism on a national stage.
The quarterback who set NFL passing records in his first four seasons has passed and rushed for a touchdown in a game 11 times, trailing only Hall of Famer John Hadl (12) in Chargers history.
Entering Sunday’s prime-time game against the Cincinnati Bengals, national reporters have peppered Herbert’s teammates on his seemingly secret athleticism, but for the former three-sport star at Sheldon (Ore.) High, it’s been hiding in plain view the whole time.
Rivals classified him as a dual-threat quarterback on his recruiting profile. If Oregon hadn’t offered him a football scholarship, Herbert has said he could have tried the MLB draft. Scouts came to Sheldon’s games to catch a glimpse of Herbert’s cut fastball that “drove guys nuts,” former Sheldon baseball coach Stan Manley said.
The sounds of Herbert’s bat in the cage made Manley cower behind the pitching screen. Coaches from Oregon State immediately were intrigued by the 6-foot-6 sophomore shortstop. When Herbert switched to first base, Oregon coaches also returned to watch him throw in the bullpen.
On the basketball court, he was a rebounding power forward who relied on pure athleticism to score in transition as a sophomore on Sheldon’s state runner-up team. He grew into the team’s go-to scorer as a senior.
As if Herbert playing all three sports wasn’t impressive enough, former Sheldon basketball coach Daniel Clark emphasized the way the teenager improved at all three despite minimal offseason training as he bounced between seasons.
“Some people just have that incredible ability to make their bodies learn how to do athletic things,” said Clark, now an assistant at The Bishop’s School in La Jolla. “He has really great movement intelligence so he can figure out how to maximize what he has as an athlete.”
Herbert was always the one Manley wanted on the mound at the end of a game because of his competitive grit. As a junior, Herbert was the winning pitcher in the state championship game and plated the winning run.
In the bottom of the seventh inning with a runner on second in a tie game, Herbert hit a slow ground ball on what should have been a routine play. By the time the shortstop reached the ball and looked up, Herbert had almost reached first base. The panicked player rushed his throw, and the winning run scored on an error.
“He just made the play,” Manley said. “That’s Justin.”
So Manley isn’t surprised to see Herbert still making those same hustle plays in the NFL.
Herbert scored his first rushing touchdown in more than a year last week, improvising on a fourth down in the red zone that was called for the quarterback to rush out wide to the right side. With an unblocked defender blowing up the play in the backfield, Herbert cut back to his left, slithering through the defense for a four-yard touchdown.
With each rushing lane that Herbert finds, offensive coordinator Greg Roman just sees his playbook open more and more.
“There’s times when things are going to be covered,” Roman said, “and when you can make them pay with your feet, it adds a totally new dimension to what you can do offensively.”
Finally healthy after a high-ankle sprain suffered in Week 2, Herbert tied his career high with six scrambles against the Titans, according to Zebra Technologies, which partners with NFL Next Gen Stats. He has attempted a scramble run on a career-high 5.8% of his dropbacks this season while averaging 8.1 yards on such carries, the second most in his career.
Herbert knows he has to be smart about when to take off. The last thing the Chargers need is their star quarterback, who missed the end of last season because of a hand injury, on the bench. But he won’t play conservatively, either.
“If there’s any yards we gained, whether it’s giving a move or continuing to run up field, I’ll do whatever we need to,” he said.
Herbert knows all too well the risk that comes with running. He broke his leg as a junior at Sheldon on a 35-yard run, halting a promising season that included 10 touchdown passes in the first three games.
Before the injury, Sheldon football and baseball assistant coach Scott Wright thought every college football coach in America soon would descend on their small town to start courting their quarterback. With little interest from major schools, however, Herbert considered going to Montana State, where his older brother Mitchell was a receiver, or pursuing professional baseball.
Coaches presented him with opportunities to participate in major showcase baseball events that could have boosted his profile. He could have dominated at passing tournaments all over the recruiting circuit to raise his ratings. None of it mattered compared with winning
“I’ve never known anyone in my life — and I’ve coached now 20 years baseball and football — that’s cared more about winning,” Wright said.
The drive doesn’t stop at sports. Herbert will join any competition. Manley sometimes would arrive at the baseball field early to catch the star pitcher organizing a bracket for a Putt-Putt golf tournament with his teammates, who would use their bats to putt balls to different corners of the batting cage.
They passed time during rain delays playing bocce ball with a rosin bag, and Herbert had to win those competitions too. In the Chargers’ locker room, outfitted with table tennis, shuffleboard and a golf simulator, Herbert wants to win everything, linebacker Troy Dye said.
“And he’s going to talk crap to you the whole time with it,” said Dye, who played with Herbert at Oregon. “His competitive nature just brings it out of the team.”
The Chargers get a jolt of energy whenever their quarterback takes off to run. Defensive teammates watching on the sideline crane their necks toward the big screen. They leap off the bench when Herbert dives for a first down.
Roman, watching it all unfold from the press box, feels the same excitement but always questions momentarily if it was worth it.
When he sees the $262-million quarterback stand back up in front of roaring fans and energized teammates, the answer is clear.