Inside The Huskies

Bernard Latest to Enter Portal as UW Roster Implosion Continues

The receiver transfers out of Montlake a second time.

Dan Raley

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The hiring of Jedd Fisch as the new University of Washington football coach hasn't stemmed the roster upheaval, with wide receiver Germie Bernard indicating he's entering the transfer portal.

On Monday, the 6-foot-1, 203-pound junior from Las Vegas told ESPN he will leave the Huskies, something he did once before when there was a coaching change to Kalen DeBoer's staff in Montlake.

Bernard, who started 7 of 14 games played this past season, had the ability to become the UW's No. 1 receiver in the coming season similar to fellow Husky Rome Odunze.

Instead, he made himself the 26th player or prospect to transfer, ask for a scholarship release or de-commit since the Huskies lost the CFP championship game to Michigan a week ago, with DeBoer taking the Alabama job causing much of the roster exodus.

"I've got great leaders ahead of me," Bernard said of the Odunze comparison. "I learn each and every game and I apply that to me and continue to work as hard as I can. When the time comes, we'll see if that word comes to light."

That time is not coming as the UW will undergo a rebuild without him.

Bernard originally was recruited by and verbally committed to Chris Petersen's staff, maintained his pledge during the Jimmy Lake regime and signed with DeBoer's staff in December 2021 and enrolled in school in the new year. 

However, once UW receivers coach Junior Adams, Bernard's point man throughout his recruitment, left for Oregon, Bernard asked for his release and transferred to Michigan State.

Germie Bernard stands near the Husky sideline with Kalen DeBoer and JaMarcus Shephard in the CFP title game.
Germie Bernard stands next to receivers coach JaMarcus Shephard and then UW coach Kalen DeBoer in Houston / Skylar Lin Visuals

After a year with the Spartans and a program in disarray, Bernard was welcomed back to the DeBoer-led Huskies and caught 34 passes for 419 yards and 2 touchdowns, and rushed the ball 13 times for 43 yards and 2 more scores. He also returned 13 punts and kickoffs for 276 yards, with a long runback of 51 yards.

And now he's gone, looking for another place to land with two seasons of eligibility remaining.

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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