Top QB prospect Herbert dinged; questionable for weekend … Oregon junior QB Justin Herbert, the consensus top prospect at the position for the 2019 draft, is currently in concussion protocol after taking hard hits on Saturday during a 44-15 loss to Arizona and is listed as questionable for this coming weekend’s game with UCLA. Herbert was believed to be injured when he was stuffed at the goal line in the final minute, leading some to question why he was even in the game during garbage time.The injury tops off a miserable three week stretch for Herbert during which both he and the Ducks have struggled. Oregon went into that sequence leading the Pac-12 North, but went 1-2 since to drop out of conference contention. In those three games against quality Pac-12 opponents, Herbert averaged under 220 yards per game while completing barely 54% of his pass attempts. In the process, Herbert hasn’t looked very instinctive and has appeared very uncomfortable when forced off his spot. Its hard to know at this time how much all this has impacted Herbert’s grade from NFL scouts but it is hard to imagine that it has helped. Its also not clear if any of this will impact Herbert’s decision whether or not to enter the upcoming draft. There were reports last week that despite the fact that he projected to be the first QB selected this year – if not the first player selected period – Herbert was leaning toward returning to school for his senior campaign next fall. On the one hand, the current situation could have Herbert thinking more about turning pro given the threat of a more serious injury down the road; on the other hand, if he were to drop out of the top 10, he might be more inclined to stay in school and work on his game. Stay tuned!
