Before boarding a flight to San Francisco with his teammates and coaches last week Wednesday, Oregon junior quarterback Justin Herbert released a statement through the University of Oregon's Athletic Department announcing his intentions to return to the Oregon football program for the 2019 season and finish his career.

"As we prepare for our bowl game, I would like to ensure that there are no distractions outside of this game," Herbert said in the school-issued release on Wednesday. "My commitment to my teammates, our coaches, Duck fans, and the University of Oregon has never been stronger. I'll be returning to the University of Oregon for my senior year."

On New Year's Eve, Herbert spoke for the first time with the media about his decision to return to Oregon for his fourth year as the starting quarterback at Oregon.

"One of the things I wanted to demonstrate was how committed I was to this team," Herbert said after a Redbox Bowl win over Michigan State. "I think it was helpful to do it before the game and not leave it till after. I've been committed and am really excited to be back."

Despite all the success in his three years at Oregon, Herbert felt the need to come back and get better prepared for the NFL and never really put much thought into going pro.

"Not a whole lot," said Herbert about how much did he consider going pro. "I kind have known what I want to do. I'm in a great situation and have great guys around me and am excited to be here."

The Oregon offense could potentially return all 11 starters from this year's 9-4 team and be in a position to be ranked inside the Top 15 or next year. With Herbert back, the Ducks are also likely going to be the Pac-12's preseason favorite to win the conference.

This season, Herbert extended a streak of throwing a touchdown pass to 27 consecutive games, which started back in 2016 against the Washington Huskies. Against Michigan State he pushed it to 28 games in a row after he threw a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to win the game and extend the streak. Herbert was named the Google Cloud Academic All-American Team Member of the Year with a 4.06 GPA in Biology. On the field this season, Herbert is tied for 10th nationally in touchdown passes with 28 and is tied for 24th nationally in passing yards with 2,985 ahead of the bowl game.

Coming into the Redbox Bowl, Herbert holds a 62.7 percent completion percentage, which ranks third in program history. He also became the fastest player in school history to pass for 6,000 yards and is sixth all-time at Oregon with 6,904 yards. His 62 career touchdown passes ranks second in program history and Herbert's five career 300-yard games is tied for sixth-most in program history.