Before Aaron Rodgers, There Was Grandma Lily: The Making of Germie Bernard
Bo Marchionte
Host · Writer
Germie Bernard Is an Old Soul in a Young Man’s Game
There is a certain personality we’ve been trained to expect from NFL wide receivers.
The jewelry.
The cameras.
A social-media production. The carefully cultivated brand that sometimes becomes larger than the player wearing the uniform.
Then there is Germie Bernard.
“I am an old soul,” Bernard said. “I get that a lot.”
Believe him.
In his second NFL game, Bernard was forced into a larger role with Michael Pittman Jr. out. Aaron Rodgers went looking for the rookie repeatedly, including four passes on one second-quarter drive. Bernard finished with four catches for 35 yards on six targets.
Those are the numbers.
Understanding the young man catching them requires going considerably further back than Sunday.
“I’ll call her Grandma Lily,” Bernard said.
That’s where this story really starts.
Bernard’s faith isn’t something manufactured for an Instagram bio, nor does he carry it around like a billboard. It is simply part of his wiring, with Grandma Lily laying the first bricks.
“Growing up, we went to church every now and then, but my grandma was a foundation,” Bernard said. “She really pushed us to continue to have a relationship with God.”
Eventually Grandma Lily’s influence became Germie’s own conviction.
At Washington, receivers coach JaMarcus Shephard helped push Bernard further. Shephard opened meetings with Scripture, discussing passages with his players. Bernard bought his own Bible and began studying it himself.
“I just really started diving deep into the Word and really gaining my own relationship.”
There’s something cool about that.
Faith can get packaged as boring or soft, particularly in a sport fueled by violence, money and ego. Bernard makes it look like neither. There is a quiet confidence in him. He doesn’t need everybody looking at him to know exactly who he is.
Pittsburgh probably isn’t going to wake up one morning and discover its rookie receiver splashed across TMZ for doing something stupid. Bernard would rather go home and watch television.
Seriously.
“Honestly, I love watching TV shows,” Bernard said. “Whenever I can get my mind off football…you gotta have time to decompress.”
Then came the important part.
“If you make this your identity, you’re gonna get so lost.”
That’s an unusually mature sentence from a rookie trying to establish an NFL identity.
Bernard separates the man from the occupation without separating himself from the work. When football time arrives, the old soul punches the clock.
And there may be no better graduate-level course for a young receiver than playing with Rodgers.
Think Obi-Wan Kenobi and the young Jedi, except the classroom is an NFL huddle and the quizzes arrive on third down.
Bernard said Rodgers has been drilling him on the “very minuscule things” defensive looks, route adjustments and understanding how his assignment can help spring somebody else.
“On some third-down calls, we had some different looks that I wasn’t familiar with,” Bernard said. “He kind of coached me through those and how he saw that.”
Rodgers’ standard?
Perfection.
Not the impossible kind. Bernard explained that Rodgers defines it as being your best and executing at your best. Make a mistake, ask why, learn from it and move forward.
“Just don’t continue to mess up the same thing that you make a mistake on.”
That sounds suspiciously like something Grandma Lily might appreciate.
Football will eventually tell us what Germie Bernard becomes as an NFL receiver. Four catches in September guarantee nothing.
But Pittsburgh is already getting a glimpse of the young man underneath the helmet.
Humble enough to listen. Driven enough to work. Secure enough to love God without worrying whether somebody thinks that makes him less cool.
And if Grandma Lily happens to read this, she should recognize some of her handiwork.
Bernard is walking proof that the foundation held.
Germie Bernard NFL Stats After Two Games
Catches: 4
Targets: 6
Yards: 35
Touchdowns: 0
