In the days leading up to the NFL Draft, Alabama receiver Germie Bernard heard from his agent that the Pittsburgh Steelers were interested at pick 53.
So, once Day 2 of the draft got underway, family and friends gathered at his parents’ house in Las Vegas to count along with the picks. Among the nearly 50 people at the party was Bernard’s high school football coach, who happened to idolize the Steelers as a kid.
“I was waiting for him to get drafted at 53, but when he got a phone call, it was only, like, pick 45 or 46,” said Rich Muraco, the longtime coach of Liberty High School in Henderson, Nev. “I thought, ‘Aww, it must not be the Steelers.’ And then when he came out (of the other room) with the Steelers stuff on, I was like, ‘All right! There we go!’
“As a young kid, I was a huge Steelers fan,” Muraco said. “I grew up in the ’70s with those great teams. Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, Lynn Swann and all of those guys. I loved the Steelers. My whole room was Steelers. Everything was Steelers.”
Muraco has two great reasons to root for the Steelers again. For the second time in three years, they drafted one of his former players.
In 2024, the Steelers selected offensive lineman Troy Fautanu. This time, they traded up six spots to draft Bernard, whom Muraco described as “a perfect fit” for the Steelers, calling him explosive, hard-working, physical, “freakishly” strong and drama free.
“He loves everything about football,” Muraco said. “The meetings, the studying, the grind that is football. I think that’s important. He’s going to be a guy that goes to work and works. He’s not a prima donna type receiver. He wants to win and be the best version of himself.”
The Steelers traded spots with the Colts to draft him with the 47th overall pick. On draft day, the 22-year-old emphasized his team-first mindset when talking on a conference call with reporters.
“They’re getting a selfless guy that is going to do everything for the team to have success,” Bernard said. “Just a guy that’s explosive with the ball in his hands. A guy that can create plays and … just a selfless teammate.”
The 6-foot-1, 206-pounder is considered a versatile receiver able to run routes when lined up wide or in the slot.
Bernard played one-year stints at Michigan State and Washington before spending the past two seasons at Alabama. He’d followed former Huskies coach Kalen DeBoer to Tuscaloosa and led the Crimson Tide in receiving the past two seasons.
In four years combined, Bernard had 155 catches for 2,203 yards and 13 touchdowns. He rushed for five TDs on 35 career carries.
“He’s the complete package,” Muraco said. “Plus, he’s humble. A lot of times kids go off (to college), and it’s like they kind of forget where they’re from. He hasn’t, which is nice.”
Bernard reunites in Pittsburgh with former Liberty classmate Fautanu. Bernard was a freshman on the junior varsity squad when Fautanu was a senior. They later spent one season together at Washington in 2023.
“A bunch of my coaches have been Steelers fans their whole lives, so they’re super pumped,” said Muraco, a Rochester, N.Y., native who later adopted the Giants as his favorite team.
Bernard helped Liberty win a Nevada state championship as a sophomore and was the Gatorade Player of the Year for Nevada as a senior. The pandemic wiped out his junior campaign, otherwise the Patriots might’ve won consecutive state titles.
Liberty is a big public school with about 3,200 students. The campus is 10 miles south of the Vegas Strip.
Muraco is entering his 17th season as head football coach. More than 60 of his former players were recruited to Division I schools, and one has been drafted into the NFL in four straight years.
Still, Bernard stands out.
“I’ve had a lot of really good kids come through here,” Muraco said. “I don’t want to say he’s my favorite, but he’s probably my favorite.”
It wasn’t necessarily Bernard’s on-field production that swayed Muraco, though the stats are impressive. In two varsity seasons, Bernard made 107 catches for 1,904 yards and 26 touchdowns.
But rather, Muraco pointed to hard work and humility.
“He worked out like a fiend in the weight room,” Muraco said. “He holds all our school records for skill guys. In high school, he could power clean 315 (pounds), which was insane. I’ve got linemen this year that can’t power clean 315.
“If kids in high school can power clean 225, they’re really strong. So, it was freakishly good.”
Muraco described Bernard as an eager blocker whose strength shows. He recalled a showcase game against national power Don Bosco Prep when Bernard was matched up with a five-star cornerback.
“I don’t remember the kid’s name, but Germie was just whooping his (butt) physically,” Muraco said. “Like, destroying the kid by blocking. We were down by the goal line, and he took the kid, drove him 10 yards and pancaked him. … That’s something he always took a lot of pride in, being a physical blocker.”
Bernard credited his high school coaches for making him an unselfish blocker.
“I learned that at a young level,” he said. “You are able to help other people get success on the field, which is going to come in return for you. I just always have that mindset.”
Muraco recorded Bernard’s draft day celebration and shared it to social media. He said Steelers fans found the video and drove the “likes” into the thousands.
“I’m so glad I got to be there to witness that,” Muraco said. “He was so, so happy, crying, the whole gamut of emotions. It’s just very, very special.”