THIBODAUX, La. — When Justin Herbert was weighing whether to enter the NFL draft or return for his senior season at Oregon, the Ducks signal-caller sought the counsel of one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time: Peyton Manning.

It was here, at the Manning Passing Academy, where Herbert first met the Manning family two years ago and where they reconvene again as the Eugene native makes his second appearance as a counselor at the camp that attracts more than 1,200 high school quarterbacks for a weekend of skills development.

“You trade numbers with a lot of the players and keep in touch with them,” Manning said. "So Justin reached out to me last year after the season, talking about whether to stay or go and kind of some of the things that I thought about back in 1997 deciding whether to stay or go. I shared my experience. It’s such an individual decision.

“Coach (Phillip) Fulmer when I played at Tennessee used to call and tell me, ‘Hey you need to tell Jamal Lewis he needs to stay.’ I’m like, ‘I’m not doing that. I’m not telling anybody to stay. I’m going to tell them why I stayed and the things that I thought about and it’s going to be their decision.’ I gave Justin my thoughts, told him to do his homework, ask lots of questions and I was proud of him for staying. I think it says lot about him and his commitment to the University of Oregon and I think it’s only going to make him better this year. We’re glad to have him back; he threw the ball really well (Thursday) and there’s no doubt he’ll have a great year this year and he’ll be in great position for next year.”

Manning made the same decision, albeit more than 20 years earlier, following his junior season at Tennessee. He returned and led the Volunteers to an SEC championship and Orange Bowl berth, won the Maxwell, O’Brien and Unitas awards and finished runner-up for the Heisman Trophy before being the eventual No. 1 overall pick in the 1998 NFL draft.

In the December conversation, Herbert asked if Manning would still make the same decision to return for his senior season. The five-time NFL MVP and two-time Super Bowl champion said he would.

“He said he enjoyed the process and he made some great memories coming back for another year and that’s kind of what I was hoping to do,” Herbert said. “He gave me the facts. He told me if you do this, this is what happens. This is how the NFL works, this is how the draft works. He didn’t try and persuade me one way or the other. He was set on giving me the facts and letting me make my own decision."

When Manning went into the details of the draft process and the inner workings of the NFL, it wasn’t merely a brief overview. He laid out exactly what Herbert will experience, whether it was this year or next year.

Herbert described the conversation as “expansive” and vast.

“He really knows what he’s talking about," Herbert said. “I was kind of in awe. He had a lot of information.”

There were other factors that went into Herbert’s decision to return to UO, starting with the chance to play with his brother, Patrick, now a freshman tight end for the Ducks. Getting to play another year in his hometown and go out with the class of players he signed with also played a part.

But the relative depth of the quarterbacks in this year’s draft compared to next year’s was not as important to the 6-foot-6 Herbert. This year saw Oklahoma’s Kyler Murray go first overall and Daniel Jones and Dwayne Haskins also go in the first round, but only Drew Lock and Will Grier go in the first three rounds. Next year, Herbert could vie for the top pick with Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa and Georgia’s Jake Fromm.

“I think I did a pretty good job of not really focusing on that,” he said. “I kind of looked at it like, I’m excited to be back for another year and no amount of money could pull me away from the University of Oregon, my friends and my brothers that I’ve made there. Really excited for it and looking forward to another year.”

With that decision behind him and another spring of development and tweaks complete, Herbert has a plan for where he wants to improve this fall, starting with his footwork.

Herbert said he talked to Manning specifically about footwork on Thursday, when the college quarterbacks worked at taking snaps under center, which Oregon hasn’t done.

“I was a little out of my element,” Herbert said. “I had to ask him about five-step drop, seven, three-step drop under center."

Even out of the pistol or shotgun, Herbert recognizes his footwork needs to improve and he wants to be more consistent, particularly in completion percentage, this season.

“Sometimes I hop around too much in the backfield,” he said. “Work on protections as well and shifting protections and making sure we’re covered up. ... We were playing really good football at times last year and we kind of fell off at the end. Talking to Peyton and Eli about things you can do late in the year when your body kind of starts falling apart.”

Archie Manning called Herbert a “special" talent, but Peyton didn’t want to offer too much by way of critique.

“I’m not a coach and I’m the wrong guy to ask for that,” Peyton Manning said. "I think experience is your best teacher. I know I got a lot stronger going into my senior year. You see some more defenses, you’re more comfortable in your system and there’s just something about staying every year and saying, ‘I’m going to the NFL with every piece of ammunition possible. I’ve seen a lot of defenses, I’ve played a lot of games.’

“I think experience is your best teacher. I think that’ll serve him well.”