He might never get used to the scene. When Justin Herbert sees the little kids wearing the No. 10 jerseys – and these days, this happens a lot – it’s still hard to fathom. No, it’s something more.

“It’s really weird,” Oregon’s senior quarterback says. “Because I used to be the one wearing the jersey.”

That Herbert actually is Oregon’s senior quarterback is hard to fathom. The question he keeps getting – including from those young fans – is why he turned down the NFL’s millions and came back for one more season. The answer is at once complicated and very simple:

“I’m still a fan,” Herbert says. “If a fan were able to jump into the suit of a football player, it would be me.”

Yeah, it sounds hokey – until you understand that Herbert used to be that kid. He grew up in Eugene, Oregon, walking to games at Autzen Stadium with his grandfather, father and brothers (OK, sometimes his mom dropped them off before the games, but afterward they routinely walked a mile home to the family’s ranch house in Eugene’s Cal Young neighborhood). And that on those walks, he wore Joey Harrington’s No. 3 jersey, or later LaMichael James’ No. 21.

“It was a wonderful time to go and watch,” says Mark Herbert, Justin’s father, describing a period when the Ducks started wearing all those wacky color combinations and, perhaps not coincidentally, winning all the time – and when in Eugene, affection for the local football accelerated into intense passion, yet retained a significant measure of old-time charm.

“With the uniforms being changed and the players being so accessible,” he continues, “it was a perfect time.”

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As No. 13 Oregon nears its opener against No. 16 Auburn on Saturday in Arlington, Texas, its hopes of returning to national relevance – and maybe of returning to the College Football Playoff – hinge on a hometown hero who chose to stick around for one more season. But what makes the whole thing unique is that in many ways, Herbert is still that kid in the jersey.

“His (story) is truly like the dream became a reality – at an extremely high level,” Oregon coach Mario Cristobal says.

But that’s not quite right. Herbert’s dream wasn’t nearly this big.

Despite his success at Eugene’s Sheldon High School, Oregon was very late in offering a scholarship. If it had not come, he’d have been happy heading off to Montana State to play with his older brother Mitchell. Playing for the Ducks?

“I don’t think he ever thought about it,” Mark Herbert says. “You might as well have built a rocket ship and flown to the moon. It wasn’t gonna happen.”

But when then-coach Mark Helfrich finally called, Herbert was ecstatic over the thought of jumping into the suit of an Oregon football player. And catch the meaning here: He was excited by the idea of just wearing the uniform.

“I never thought I’d play,” he says. “I thought junior or senior year I’d see mop-up time, and that’s all I ever wanted to do, was just to play for Oregon. Maybe if I was at a different school or maybe if the circumstances were different – but that’s truly how I feel.”

Instead, Herbert turned heads as a freshman during preseason practices, then became the starter – and a star – during a 4-8 season Ducks fans would otherwise like to forget. With a strong arm and an athletic 6-6, 238-pound frame, he very quickly drew attention from NFL scouts. And by last season, he was faced with a choice: Leave school to enter the NFL draft, where he was projected as a certain first-rounder and maybe the first quarterback off the board.

Or he could play one more season for the Ducks, in hopes of leading something special.

Herbert graduated last spring with a general science degree, with the grades and resume to apply for medical school if he wanted. And while that goal has been deferred – maybe for good, because Herbert’s future clearly lies in football – it’s worth noting that as he was growing up in Eugene, the NFL was never really even a goal.

Adding to the equation: Herbert’s younger brother Patrick, a tight end, would join the team this season, creating at least the possibility of a Herbert-to-Herbert touchdown connection.

Finally, there’s the potential that with a star quarterback leading the way, Oregon might be ready to return to national relevance.

“It’s not so much ‘unfinished business,’” Herbert says, “but it’s another chance, another opportunity to play with our guys. And to play football on a stage and in an environment that I love and I’ve grown up in. And to be there with my younger brother.

“You can’t get another year of college football like that. As soon as you go to the NFL, it’s a business. I was fortunate enough to realize that, and I think I made the right decision.”

Herbert isn’t the first high-profile quarterback to stick around for his senior season in recent years. Andrew Luck did it. Matt Leinart, too. Harrington, who was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2002 draft, was not projected as a first-rounder after his junior year. But he told Mark Herbert that he wouldn’t trade his senior season for anything. Peyton Manning told Justin something similar.

The Herberts say they appreciated the advice and took it to heart. Yet it’s difficult to find a good parallel. For Herbert, playing football for Oregon is the furthest thing from business.

“When you look at where he grew up, and the way he grew up, and the uniqueness of his situation, his decision made 100% sense to anyone who knew him,” Mark Herbert says.

Justin’s maternal grandfather, the late Rich Schwab, became known as “Schwabby” as a receiver for Oregon in the early 1960s – and forever after, too, in Ducks' circles. Schwab’s ongoing connection to the football program provided more than occasional access to the program and likely cemented Justin’s passion for the Ducks. For years, the Herbert family has used Schwab’s seats in Section 12, Rows 32 and 33, on the north side of Autzen. During those walks home afterward, the collective mood varied with the scoreboard.

“When the Ducks won, we were all happy and cheerful,” Herbert says.

And when they lost? “Sad and defeated,” he admits.

It helped, then, that Herbert’s childhood largely coincided with the rise of Oregon’s program to prominence – many wins, few defeats, and oh, so many highlights to savor. There’s a poster on his bedroom wall of Harrington catching a touchdown pass against Texas in the 2000 Holiday Bowl. Although he began going to games as a toddler – Mark Herbert recalls carrying a son, though it might have been Mitchell home from games in a chest pack – Justin’s earliest clear memory is of watching Dennis Dixon on TV in 2007, faking the Statue of Liberty, then running for a touchdown in a blowout win at Michigan.

His all-time favorite Duck? LaMichael James – and no, though they’ve met, Herbert has never told James that. He did tell Harrington about the poster, though, which made Harrington laugh.

“It didn’t surprise me,” Harrington says, “because that’s just the kind of guy he is. He’s real. He’s down to earth. And he’s a kid, right? I mean that in the best way. He hasn’t been spoiled and he hasn’t been tainted. He’s still enjoying his ride.”

Or maybe Herbert is still savoring, for as long as he can, all those walks home from Autzen.

“It’s been a tremendous journey,” Mark Herbert says. “It’s been unbelievable to watch this transformation. Being that little kid who watched the Duck games to now. … It’s unique, and it is not lost on Justin. It’s not lost on him.”