FIU Panthers linebacker recruit is a head-buster with designs on an NFL career
Hallandale High linebacker Gaethan Bernadel got a few snaps at fullback last year, and he approached the offense exactly the same way he plays defense.
“I love busting heads,” said Bernadel, a 6-1, 215-pound senior who wears jersey No. 1. “When I got in against Edison, their sideline thought I was going to get the ball. They started yelling, ‘Watch No. 1! Watch No. 1!’”
But Bernadel didn’t get the rock.
Instead, he was the rock.
Bernadel’s assignment was to block the defensive end, and he did that with relish.
“I gave it to him,” Bernadel said. “His helmet unbuckled. I’m a team player. I don’t go in there and try to change the play. If they want me to block, that’s what I’ll do.”
Bernadel committed to FIU on August 6, and it’s easy to see what Panthers coach Butch Davis likes in this recruit. Bernadel, a fourth-year starter, has a 4.2 grade-point average and also that aforementioned team-first attitude.
Hallandale coach Herman Lovett said Bernadel had more than 20 scholarship offers, including Power Five colleges such as South Carolina, Cal, Virginia, Kentucky and Duke.
“I told [Bernadel] that it doesn’t matter what school he chooses as long as he performs,” Lovett said. “He’s a wonderful kid — the complete package. I’ve been coaching for 20 years, and he’s in my top three [of best players].
“We use him mostly at middle linebacker and outside linebacker. But, when we need a sack on third and long, we put him at defensive end. He’s a playmaker.”
Bernadel has also earned praise from recruiting experts Larry Blustein and Charles Fishbein. Blustein compared Bernadel to former FIU linebacker Anthony Wint. Fishbein called Bernadel a “poor man’s” version of former NFL linebacker Jonathan Vilma.
Lovett first became of aware of Bernadel when the player was in the eighth grade. His older brother, Lens Bernadel, was on the Hallandale team at the time, and Gaethan made his presence known.
“He told me, ‘Coach, my time is coming. I can’t wait to come out for football’,” Lovett said.
Lens Bernadel is an undersized defensive lineman, playing Division III football at Beloit College in Wisconsin, but Gaethan has a much higher ceiling. That’s been apparent since his freshman season, when he not only started on varsity but also called the defensive signals.
“It was a lot of responsibility,” Lovett said. “But he could recognize what we were teaching.”
Hallandale, which finished 4-6 last season, was particularly overmatched on Nov. 1, 2019 against a loaded Deerfield Beach team that included running back Jaylan Knighton, now a Miami Hurricanes star.
Deerfield Beach won that game, 48-18, but Bernadel wasn’t intimidated.
“[Bernadel] had 16 tackles and an interception,” Lovett said. “I see him doing great things at FIU.”
Bernadel, 17, is a Miami native of Haitian ancestry. He has been raised primarily by a single mom, Katia Bernadel, who is a bank teller for Wells Fargo. She has preached academics, and both her sons had GPAs over 4.0 in high school.
On the field, Lovett believes Bernadel needs to continue to work on his speed. Other than that, the coach said Bernadel has many great qualities.
“He watches film. He asks good questions,” Lovett said. “If he has a weakness, it won’t be a weakness for long because he will attack it and improve.”
Respectful and studious off the field, Bernadel has the swagger Davis surely recognizes from coaching the Hurricanes in their glory years.
For example, when Hallandale sends him on a blitz, Bernadel said he doesn’t even try to disguise.
“When I blitz, I’m like a bat out of hell,” Bernadel said. “I’m going to let you know I’m coming, but you’ve still got to block me, and I now I’ve got a running start.
“To play defense, you’ve got to be ‘gangster’. I’m our defensive leader.”
Bernadel is majoring in sports management, and there’s a reason why.
“I’m going to play in the NFL — that’s been my goal since I was nine years old,” he said. “I picked my major because I want to understand contracts so I don’t need an agent. I don’t want to pay nobody three percent of my money.”
THIS AND THAT
▪ FIU (0-1) will play its next game on Oct. 10 against visiting Middle Tennessee (0-3). The Blue Raiders have allowed an average of 42 points in their three games (Army, Troy and Texas-San Antonio).