EUGENE -- In the mid-2000s, when Chris Miller was the director of Kidsports, a youth athletics organization in Eugene, he watched thousands of athletes play in hundreds of games.



But one day the former Oregon Ducks quarterback who later played 10 NFL seasons saw a fourth-grader make a play that shocked him.



"I watched him roll to the left on the Kidsports field, flip his hips and rip one across the field about 30 to 35 yards on a line," Miller said. "When I saw him make that throw I thought, oh man, we've got to keep track of this kid."

The kid was Justin Herbert.



Nearly a decade later, Miller is now one of thousands who will be watching the Sheldon High School graduate intently during his sophomore season at Oregon.

Throwing for 19 touchdowns in eight games and becoming the first freshman starting QB at Oregon since Miller in 1983 has put the home-grown Herbert on the map nationally and under a microscope locally.



Herbert, who grew up watching fellow Oregonian Kellen Clemens play the position at UO, is encountering a new level of scrutiny, and opportunity, as his celebrity grows in the Willamette Valley and beyond.



The attention hasn't been suffocating, but Herbert acknowledges there's more of it than ever.



"It's hard to kind of refute that there's no added pressure," Herbert said. "Being from Eugene, you know it's a little bit of pressure, but I just try to do my best."



Quarterbacks from the state have dotted UO's roster for years -- Clemens from Burns, Joey Harrington from Portland, A.J. Feeley from Ontario, Taylor Alie and Dustin Haines from Eugene, among others. But Herbert is the first from the immediate area around Eugene to hold this prominent a role since Miller, a fellow Sheldon grad who often threw to Herbert's all-state father, Mark, as an Irish QB.



Making the 3 1/2 mile journey from Sheldon to Oregon was easy for Miller, who "took pride in being the hometown kid." He'd gone to middle and high school with UO coach Rich Brooks' daughters and came to know his future college coach long before he threw for 229 yards in three games as a freshman in 1983. Miller added 6,452 more yards in his final three seasons at UO.



"Being in Eugene was actually more comfortable for me and convenient -- in terms of going home for laundry or a home-cooked meal," Miller said.



Convenience can come with a cost. Unlike teammates able to leave during winter and summer breaks, local stars have fewer opportunities to escape notice. Jordan Kent experienced that more than a decade ago upon arriving at UO after a career at Eugene's Churchill High School that saw him become one of the state's most talented basketball and track and field products. Already used to being in the spotlight as the son of former UO basketball coach Ernie Kent, he played three sports at UO, including football from 2005-06.



"Oregon football is a 24-7, 365 affair in Eugene," said Kent, now a broadcaster with NBC Sports Northwest and the Trail Blazers. "What you have to do in that situation is realize that, 'OK, I'm probably not going to have a lot of privacy in this town during my time here, but I have the unique opportunity to represent the university in a positive way. I can let people see me for my personality and my character.' I think that's something that really sets you up well in the long run."



But in the short term, many close to Herbert believe he's set up well to handle the increase in attention because of his focused, even-keel personality.



Herbert has always looked young for his age but acted older than his years. Despite being blessed with college-ready talent, Herbert was never about himself in high school, said Lane Johnson, his football coach at Sheldon.



It figures that he most likely did not read a story last month that listed Herbert as a darkhorse Heisman Trophy candidate.



"He's very humble," tight end Jacob Breeland said. "Like, I'll mess around him with and I'll be like, 'Oh, Heisman!' and he'll just tell me to shut up."





The last time anyone can seem to recall seeing Herbert shaken was during his junior football season at Sheldon, after a broken leg ended his season. Some may have been worried that such an injury would limit their visibility during a crucial recruiting year.



That wasn't Herbert's concern.



"He felt like he had let his teammates down," said Johnson, who retired this year as Sheldon's coach after 31 years on staff. "I said, 'Justin, you got hurt. It wasn't like you went out and smoked dope and got kicked off the team -- you got hurt!'



"That had a real effect on him, and I believe in kind of a weird way made him appreciate football and athletics in general a little bit more."



The broken leg proved how quickly an opportunity could be taken away. This year, after new coach Willie Taggart reopened competitions for playing time at every position, Herbert was determined not to let his starting job slip away, too. For the first time, he has stopped playing basketball and baseball, sports he starred in during high school, to focus solely on football.



The 6-foot-6 Herbert has always been physically gifted -- see his fourth-grade strike that wowed Miller -- but by fine-tuning the small details of the position during the past year, he's created a big gap between himself and everyone else on the depth chart. A pair of former four-star QB recruits at UO have transferred to junior colleges since April.



Of course, those departures have left UO's depth at quarterback paper-thin, which added more pressure for Herbert to stay healthy and perform.



"This is probably the most rigorous position in athletics" both on and off the field, UO co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Marcus Arroyo said. "You've got to be the toughest mentally and physically. He's done a fine job with it."

Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert speaks at the Pac-12 football media days in Los Angeles in July.

In the offseason, teammates said, Herbert would get stopped by fans while eating or walking around campus. He'd smile, make conversation and then continue about his day. At UO's annual "Fan Day" last weekend, the line for Herbert's autograph went deep.



"I feel like he handles it better than anyone I could see doing it," sophomore receiver Dillon Mitchell said.



Said Kent: "It is pretty special to be the quarterback for the Ducks and be the Eugene kid. It doesn't get much better than that."



Herbert estimated this week he'll know "probably a couple hundred" people in the Autzen Stadium stands Saturday when UO opens its season against Southern Utah (5:15 p.m., Pac-12 Networks).



To prepare for his first opening-day start in front of hometown fans, he's following a simple set of instructions that will apply no matter how his sophomore season fares.



"Just don't look up in the stands," he said, "and focus on the game."



-- Andrew Greif

agreif@oregonian.com

@andrewgreif