The 2022 wide receiver recruiting cycle began with Washington making an offer to a four-star receiver out of Vegas by the name of Germie Bernard. Could things be coming full circle now?

Bernard, who’s 6-2 and-a-half and weighs 192 lbs., is more than just a special player — he’s the complete package.

“He’s a great kid”, Bernard’s receivers coach at Liberty High School in Henderson, NV, Shawn White told Realdawg.com this week, “He trains all day…speed and conditioning workouts, weightlifting, stretching and plyometrics, and he also does yoga.”

But off the field Bernard sports over a 3.8 GPA, “That’s the most important thing”, White added.

White knows genuine talent when he sees it; before heading to the Vegas area he had done evaluation work for the Denver Broncos and also the Carolina Panthers, but he remembers one guy who made a profound difference in how he approaches coaching and working with young athletes.

“I’m a Chris Petersen disciple”, White said,

So when he began to see interest building between the Huskies and a member of his receiving room, he made sure a legit connection was made.

Bernard came to the Rising Stars camp in June of 2019, and then he and his parents, along with White made a trip to Seattle back in September to see the Huskies host USC — and that’s when the offer came.

“I was the first 2022 receiver they offered”, Bernard said, “That’s always been something that stuck in my mind. For awhile we didn’t talk as much but now we talk every week.”

Bernard said the Huskies are very “high” on his list right now; a list that includes 12 offers total.

“I’m liking them a lot”, he explained, “It’s the coaches and the atmosphere…and the people around (the program).”

While Bernard made that trip back in September along with teammate, Moliki Matavao (also of Liberty), the two may see eachother again in the coming years on opposite sides of the field. Matavao (class of 2021) chose Oregon, while the Ducks may be on the outside looking in for Bernard at this point.

“Washington is the only school I’ve been to”, Bernard said, adding that the COVID-19 issues have stopped him from going anywhere else in the past few months, but that may have worked to the Huskies’ advantage at this point.

First receiver offer…only school he’s seen…and a better-than-good relationship with Junior Adams. Oh, and did I mention he’s an FSP guy who has been catching passes from Sam Huard?

“I know Coach Adams can coach me up”, Bernard said, noting that he knows he’d be flanked by serious talent in guys like Puka Nacua and Rome Odunze.

Bernard is a guy who wants to come in and compete right out of the shoot; he’s very ambitious but also very cerebral in how he approaches the recruiting process.

He knows nothing will be handed to him and that he has to work hard to take the next step, and “hard” doesn’t describe the time he has been putting in to get himself ready; starting at 6:30 AM and going all the way until 7:30 PM when he completes an evening run.

“After I work out I’ll go to my coach’s house at 6:30 PM”, he said.

“He’s a different kind of kid”, White added, “Not into me-me-me…he’s ahead of the game. He’s young — like 16 to 17 but he’s also more like a 20-21 year old…his work ethic is ridiculous. I’ve played and coached and evaluated football players across the country for over 25 years — he is the best wide receiver I have personally coached and been around when it comes to smarts, temperament, drive, passion, speed, power, explosiveness and ability.”

Last season for Liberty Bernard recorded 948 yards on 54 catches and 14 touchdowns for his state champion Patriots.

He has good hands and shows some real solid downfield blocking skills. That’s in part due to the preparation and workouts that Coach White has set into place for his receivers.

Before each practice, when a lot of guys are stretching, Bernard and his receivers are over working on the seven-man sleds with the offensive linemen and the OL coach. And it’s one thing to be a home-run hitter as a receiver, but quite another to be that guy who’s going to level a DB who stands in the way of a teammate who’s trying to take it to the house.

He also demonstrates strong determination on his YAC and makes good visual decisions when DB’s are bearing down on him.

We’ve talked about Bernard before on this site, but there’s good reason to re-visit this prospect and talk about him in depth now — he’s about to make a decision.

“I’m going to talk to my parents and it will be very soon”, Bernard said, “I’m not waiting because I have a pretty good idea.”

Will it be Washington?

Stay tuned…