Husky WR Germie Bernard — who returns to Michigan State on Saturday — is back where he belongs

SEATTLE – At 5:12 p.m. last Saturday, a Washington wide receiver signed autographs for fans leaning over the railing near the home tunnel inside Husky Stadium. The sophomore had just delivered his first UW touchdown, a 7-yard strike in the second half of a 43-10 win over Tulsa. A year earlier, he had entered the same stadium from the opposite end.

Now, he scribbled his name – GERMIE BERNARD – on a purple flag featuring six words that apply to the program and the player:

THE RETURN

BACK WHERE WE BELONG

Bernard knows a thing or two about returns.

By now, you probably know that story – how Bernard signed with Washington as a four-star freshman in December 2021; how Junior Adams (his wide receivers coach and primary recruiter) relocated to rival Oregon; how Bernard was released from his National Letter of Intent and followed his high school quarterback to Michigan State; how he failed to register a reception in MSU’s 39-28 defeat at UW last fall; how, following a frustrating freshman season, he transferred back to Washington.

That story has been told, sold and recycled in the nine months since.

But there’s another story you haven’t heard.

“The first time I heard of Germie, it was his eighth-grade year,” said Rich Muraco, the football coach and athletic director at Liberty High in Las Vegas. “He was playing in a championship game for youth football, and one of my players’ dads was coaching the team Germie was on. He was like, ‘You’ve got to see this kid. He’s the real deal.’ So I came to the game, and he just dominated.

“Afterward, he told me he was going to Liberty. I was always impressed, because he lived 25-30 minutes away and drove to school every day to come here. It was definitely a blessing for us that he chose to come to Liberty.”

It was no such blessing for the Bishop Gorman Gaels.

Or their standout wide receiver, Rome Odunze.

On Nov. 22, 2019, Liberty upended the Gaels with a 30-24 overtime win in the Desert Regional championship game, snapping Gorman’s streak of 10 consecutive Nevada state titles. Bernard – who recorded 54 catches, 948 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns in his sophomore season – contributed a pair of critical scores.

“He had been tearing up the whole city at that time,” said Odunze, Nevada’s Gatorade Player of the Year for Gorman in 2019. “It was a crazy day. It was rainy. The turf was terrible. It was honestly a pivotal moment in my football career. I looked across and he was (Randy) Mossing kids, going over the top. He was playing defense at some point. He was doing everything for them.”

“He was definitely a big part of our team at wide receiver, played a little bit of defense, returned kicks, kind of did everything,” Muraco said. “He had some humongous catches in that Gorman game for us. You couldn’t cover him 1-on-1, and if you did we were going to make you pay.”

Week by week, opponents paid. After the 2020 season was canceled, Bernard followed Odunze in earning Nevada Gatorade Player of the Year honors in his senior season.

He compiled 53 catches for 956 yards and 12 touchdowns, 452 rushing yards and 12.2 yards per carry, three punt return touchdowns, a kick return touchdown and a pick-six.

“We were playing Arbor View in a playoff game that was closer than we thought and we put him at running back and he had a 94-yard touchdown run from the running back position,” Muraco said.

“Going into that Gorman game (a 35-14 loss) his senior year, I felt like he needed to touch the ball 30 times if we were going to have a chance to win. He only touched it 16 times, but he had 274 yards of total offense and two touchdowns. So I think if we could have gotten it to him 30 (times) maybe we would have beaten Gorman that year, too.”

Regardless, Muraco called Bernard “probably one of the strongest, if not the strongest, wide receiver we’ve ever had come through our program. His senior year he was power cleaning 315 (pounds), which is unheard of as a skill guy. He had no fear, great vision, and was just super athletic.”

That’s why UW offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb said Monday he was “wildly disappointed” when Bernard exited for Michigan State; and why co-defensive coordinator Chuck Morrell calls the ascending sophomore UW’s “H-backer,” a hybrid between an H-wide receiver and a linebacker.

“I remember this summer coach Morrell calling me and saying, ‘Hey Shephard, the receivers were lifting and I think you had a linebacker in your group,’ ” UW associate head coach and wide receivers coach JaMarcus Shephard recalled last week. “He was talking about Germie Bernard, because he was brutally beating up our weights.

“That stuff is going to bode well for the kid, because he’s going to be able to break tackles, be physical.”

Which translates to several spots. When UW’s offense took the field against Tulsa last week, Bernard lined up in the backfield on the opening play. Behind veteran wideouts Odunze, Jalen McMillan and Ja’Lynn Polk, he’s recorded five catches for 90 yards and a touchdown (plus two carries for 8 yards) in UW’s first two games. And as the Huskies’ kickoff returner, he added a 51-yard return in the season opener against Boise State and a 38-yarder (that was negated because of a penalty) against Tulsa.

To repeat the point: Bernard knows a thing or two about returns.

“If you watch his high school film, he was a super versatile guy,” Grubb said. “He was coming out of the backfield; he was running the football between the tackles. ‘Germ’ is just a big, strong kid. If we wanted to make him a full-time running back, he could do that. I’m not interested in doing that, but he certainly could line up back there and take hand offs every game.”

When Bernard descends on Michigan State on Saturday, the positional possibilities may be endless. But after it’s over, he’ll board a flight and return to Seattle.

Back where he belongs.

“I think it’s a mindset for him,” Odunze said. “He comes with violent intentions, and that’s in his blocking game and his running game. Every time he catches the ball, he’s looking to make an explosive play. That’s how he’s been since high school. I know because I went against him. I lost in the state championship to him. I’ve seen him do it then. I’ve seen him do it now. He’s the same player but bigger, badder, more improved.

“He’s been a ballplayer since he came out the womb.”