Germie Bernard Runs One More Out Route to Be Happy

Coaching changes sent the wide receiver elsewhere. Husky success brought him back.

Germie Bernard was Kalen DeBoer's first real setback as the University of Washington football coach.

After going to great lengths to sign the Las Vegas wide receiver, salvage him as the No. 1 recruit from Jimmy Lake's holdover class and even get him on campus, the new Husky leader watched as Bernard asked for his scholarship release and bolted for Michigan State.

Everything was triggered a year ago in January when Lake's receivers coach Junior Adams, after agreeing to join DeBoer's staff, accepted a job offer from Oregon. It was too much change for Bernard to bear.

Yet true to form, as people around Montlake have learned, DeBoer turned a negative into a positive. 

The coach expressed momentary disappointment over losing such a talented player before pushing on without him and putting together an inspiring 11-2 football team, one that ironically counted a 39-28 victory over Bernard and the Spartans.

DeBoer then got him back.

Bernard entered the transfer portal in December, which was only a formality. He called the Huskies himself to express his renewed interest in the program. He took no other school's advances. 

"The idea already was to come back here; when I got into the portal, I knew where I wanted to go," the sophomore pass-catcher said this week. "I didn't want to deal with, if you know what I'm saying, the recruiting process all over again."

RAIN MAN / Skylar Lin Visuals

Wide receiver Germie Bernard basks in a light drizzle falling on Husky Stadium during spring practice. 

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FANCY FOOTWORK / Skylar Lin Visuals

Germie Bernard runs through an agility drill with receivers coach JaMarcus Shephard never far from the action.

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BACK IN MONTLAKE / Skylar Lin Visuals

Germie Bernard, originally signed by the UW, told how he called Kalen DeBoer's staff after entering the transfer portal at Michigan State.

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WALK THE LINE / Skylar Lin Visuals

Germie Bernard (4) waits in line with his fellow wide receivers before taking a turn cutting around a blocking dummy.

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POSSESSION RECEIVER / Skylar Lin Visuals

Germie Bernard was one of the highest-rated receivers on the West Coast when emerged at Liberty High School in the Las Vegas suburbs.

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THERE WAS A CATCH / Skylar Lin Visuals

Fifteen months earlier, Germie Bernard, frustrated by receivers coach Junior Adams leaving, bolted for Michigan State.

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MUGGED IN MONTLAKE :: Joe Nicholson/USA TODAY Sports

Germie Bernard couldn't prevent former UW cornerback Julius Irvin from intercepting this pass in their game at Husky Stadium last fall.

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FIRST STRIKE :: Janfu Han/USA TODAY Sports

Germie Bernard scored Michigan State's first touchdown of the season on this 44-yard catch in a 35-13 victory over Western Michigan in the 2022 season opener.

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TOUCHING DOWN IN EAST LANSING :: Janfu Han/USA TODAY Sports

Germie Bernard celebrates one of two touchdown catches he had as a freshman for Michigan State in 2022.

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I  AM SPARTACUS :: Matthew Dae Smith/USA TODAY Sports

Germie Bernard was on an instant high at Michigan State after scoring early in his first game against Western Michigan.

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Bernard, who caught 7 passes for 128 yards and 2 scores for a 5-7 Michigan State football team, originally was recruited by the UW's Chris Petersen, followed by Lake and now DeBoer. It was enough to keep his head spinning and lead to a lot of confusion.

Yet kept in touch with UW players such as Ja'Lynn Polk, Jalen McMillan and Rome Odunze. He watched them flourish in the new offense, which is a wide receivers' dream. He watched those guys have great fun and success.

"I was really going through a lot mentally during that stage," Bernard said. "But during the season I saw [the offense] and said,  'I want to be part of it.' "

He watched as quarterback Michael Penix Jr. cooly delivered the ball his Husky receivers time and time again, throwing four touchdown passes against his Michigan State team.

"Mike is a pro quarterback," Bernard said. "He makes our job much easier. With a quarterback like that, you can gain a lot and you can learn a lot from him."

He became one of those rare players in college football to leave a program, go somewhere else and return.

Some coaching staffs might have been reticent about taking on a player who had left them. Yet DeBoer's staff recognized the Nevada speedster had been put through the wringer in dealing with so many coaching changes as a recruit, beginning with Petersen and ending with Adams.

"They were very welcoming," Bernard said. "They understood my decision. We still had that connection when I came back. For them to want me still, it was a big blessing to me. I felt coming back here was the right decision for me."

He's one that DeBoer can put in the win column, once and for all.

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