It was the defense’s turn to speak to the media on Wednesday, but what head coach Willie Taggart had to say about quarterback Justin Herbert overshadowed everything about the defense. He answered the question Ducks fans have been asking since the end of the first quarter in the game against Cal: when will Justin Herbert be back?
“Justin’s throwing passes; he’s doing whatever Justin likes to do right now,” Taggart said. “It’s pretty cool to watch. I told him don’t tease me. It’s good to have him out there. You could see his teammates [were] excited to see him out throwing the football and brought some more energy to our football team.”
Herbert practiced in pads this week, so naturally, questions arose about whether the sophomore would feature in the game against the Utes.
“There’s always an option; there’s always a chance,” Taggart said. “How much? I can’t tell you, but there’s always a chance.”
To help him heal, Taggart emphasized that the Ducks will “not even breathe on him” during practice.
According to Taggart, Herbert has looked good in practice as he tries to get healthy.
“He’s throwing seeds out there and that’s good to see,” Taggart said. “But we just come along and keep improving, hopefully sooner rather than later he’ll be out there to help this football team.”

Justin Herbert passing well but not involved with even minimal contact drills involving quarterbacks. pic.twitter.com/QCsThyEQYh
— Ryan Thorburn (@rgduckfootball) October 25, 2017

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