The Miami Hurricanes already have two early commitments from linebackers in the 2021 class in the form of Killian (FL) 3-star LB Tyler Johnson and Miami Northwestern (FL) 3-star LB Ja’Corey Hammett, but UM has still been actively pursuing a third prospect to fill out the class. The Canes have been keeping a few options for that spot, and one of those players is Hallandale (FL) 3-star LB Gaethan Bernadel, who has kept in touch with the Miami staff through the quarantine.
“I’ve been speaking to coach (Eric) Hickson, he was checking in on me and my family to see how we were doing during this quarantine,” Bernadel said. “Coach (Benedict) Hyppolite, him and my mom are really great friends because coach Hyppolite used to coach at Hallandale, so they developed a friendship from that and she works at the bank that he goes to. I know he’s a good guy. He was just telling me that he’s going to recruit me hard. So my relationship with Miami right now, I like it – I love it, actually.”
The 6-1 210 pound prospect last visited the Hurricanes for their junior day event back in late January, and Bernadel was able to bring along his mother and aunt as well to see the campus.
“It was a really great experience,” Bernadel said. “We separated offense and defense, then separated into positions. I was speaking to coach (Ephraim) Banda, and he was saying how he loved my family and he’d love to have me at Miami. Right before we left, he started talking to us again, telling my mom the same thing he told me.”
Bernadel also got a chance to visit Florida State for their junior day in early March with some teammates, and he compared and contrasted the Seminoles’ event with UM’s.
“The junior day at Florida State, it wasn’t like Miami’s, you basically just watch practice pretty much,” Bernadel said. “At Miami, you actually get to sit down with the position coaches and go in the meeting rooms. At Florida State, after practice, you take a couple pictures and then you leave. I liked Miami’s better.”
Other schools Bernadel is in constant contact with include South Carolina, Kentucky, UNC, California, and Kansas.
Many recruits have had to move back their decision dates or have had their recruitments otherwise effected due to the campus shutdowns caused by the coronavirus. Although Bernadel will move some planned visits around, he says he’s sticking with his original commitment timeline, and he is still on track to release his top group soon.
“I was planning to take all five official visits before the season, but I doubt I’ll be able to do all that this summer,” Bernadel said. “I’m still planning on committing before August or sometime during August. So, in my recruitment, not much has changed except for the dates I’m going to take my OV’s. I’m still planning on graduating early.
“I plan on narrowing down my list at the end of May, or beginning of June. I’ve been talking to my mom about it and she’s all for it. I don’t know if it’s going to be 5 or 7 (schools), but I’ll be narrowing it down for sure though.”
What will Bernadel be focusing on when he is ready to choose a program?
“I’m looking for a school I can feel at home at, a school that’s going to set me up for the years after football – that’s a big deal for whatever school I go to,” Bernadel said. “A good academic school, a good football school, but mainly a school that going to set me up for life after football, because at some point, football is going to end.”
Although the Chargers stumbled to a 4-6 season on the field in 2019, Bernadel had a strong year individually, recording 111 tackles, 7 TFL, 1 INT and 1 FF as a junior.
“My junior year went amazing actually,” Bernadel said. “It was a great year, I’m going to miss all the seniors. I’ve been with those guys since I was a freshman. We didn’t really end up where we wanted to, but football is all about building relationships and becoming a man. I love the way my junior year went - it could’ve went a little better, but at the end of the day, it is what is it.”
For Bernadel, the road to excelling on the field includes not only a strong physical game, but a stout mental game as well.
“When I’m on the field, I feel like I’m that guy. My motto is ‘Kill or be killed.’ I’m trying to hit anything that moves. My IQ – I watch a lot of film, that’s all I do during the season. Film, film, film. When I know the film, the only thing I have to worry about is myself on the field. So I feel like my IQ is a big part of my game and after that it’s about developing physically. I’ve got the game mentally.”
“I’ve been speaking to coach (Eric) Hickson, he was checking in on me and my family to see how we were doing during this quarantine,” Bernadel said. “Coach (Benedict) Hyppolite, him and my mom are really great friends because coach Hyppolite used to coach at Hallandale, so they developed a friendship from that and she works at the bank that he goes to. I know he’s a good guy. He was just telling me that he’s going to recruit me hard. So my relationship with Miami right now, I like it – I love it, actually.”
The 6-1 210 pound prospect last visited the Hurricanes for their junior day event back in late January, and Bernadel was able to bring along his mother and aunt as well to see the campus.
“It was a really great experience,” Bernadel said. “We separated offense and defense, then separated into positions. I was speaking to coach (Ephraim) Banda, and he was saying how he loved my family and he’d love to have me at Miami. Right before we left, he started talking to us again, telling my mom the same thing he told me.”
Bernadel also got a chance to visit Florida State for their junior day in early March with some teammates, and he compared and contrasted the Seminoles’ event with UM’s.
“The junior day at Florida State, it wasn’t like Miami’s, you basically just watch practice pretty much,” Bernadel said. “At Miami, you actually get to sit down with the position coaches and go in the meeting rooms. At Florida State, after practice, you take a couple pictures and then you leave. I liked Miami’s better.”
Other schools Bernadel is in constant contact with include South Carolina, Kentucky, UNC, California, and Kansas.
Many recruits have had to move back their decision dates or have had their recruitments otherwise effected due to the campus shutdowns caused by the coronavirus. Although Bernadel will move some planned visits around, he says he’s sticking with his original commitment timeline, and he is still on track to release his top group soon.
“I was planning to take all five official visits before the season, but I doubt I’ll be able to do all that this summer,” Bernadel said. “I’m still planning on committing before August or sometime during August. So, in my recruitment, not much has changed except for the dates I’m going to take my OV’s. I’m still planning on graduating early.
“I plan on narrowing down my list at the end of May, or beginning of June. I’ve been talking to my mom about it and she’s all for it. I don’t know if it’s going to be 5 or 7 (schools), but I’ll be narrowing it down for sure though.”
What will Bernadel be focusing on when he is ready to choose a program?
“I’m looking for a school I can feel at home at, a school that’s going to set me up for the years after football – that’s a big deal for whatever school I go to,” Bernadel said. “A good academic school, a good football school, but mainly a school that going to set me up for life after football, because at some point, football is going to end.”
Although the Chargers stumbled to a 4-6 season on the field in 2019, Bernadel had a strong year individually, recording 111 tackles, 7 TFL, 1 INT and 1 FF as a junior.
“My junior year went amazing actually,” Bernadel said. “It was a great year, I’m going to miss all the seniors. I’ve been with those guys since I was a freshman. We didn’t really end up where we wanted to, but football is all about building relationships and becoming a man. I love the way my junior year went - it could’ve went a little better, but at the end of the day, it is what is it.”
For Bernadel, the road to excelling on the field includes not only a strong physical game, but a stout mental game as well.
“When I’m on the field, I feel like I’m that guy. My motto is ‘Kill or be killed.’ I’m trying to hit anything that moves. My IQ – I watch a lot of film, that’s all I do during the season. Film, film, film. When I know the film, the only thing I have to worry about is myself on the field. So I feel like my IQ is a big part of my game and after that it’s about developing physically. I’ve got the game mentally.”
