Justin Herbert played college football at the University of Oregon. He attended Sheldon High School in Eugene, Oregon, where he played football, basketball, and baseball. As a senior in high school, he passed for 3,130 yards and 37 touchdowns, and rushed for 543 yards and 10 touchdowns. Despite breaking his leg during his junior year of high school and having a complicated recruitment process, he eventually received scholarship offers from Nevada and Oregon. He chose to stay in Eugene to play for the Oregon Ducks. Herbert entered the 2016 season as a true freshman and became the first true freshman to start for Oregon since Chris Miller in 1983.