Several current and former Spartans are at the NFL Combine this week and they’re meeting with teams and talking about their time in East Lansing with Michigan State football.
Zion Young, a former defensive end under Mel Tucker, spoke about his time in East Lansing earlier this week and he had some nice things to say. There’s also a good chance that the Detroit Lions take him with their first pick at No. 17 overall to start opposite Aidan Hutchinson.
Another former Spartan was there talking about Michigan State and he wasn’t as friendly as Young, saying that it wasn’t going to be the place that got him to the NFL.
Germie Bernard, who ended up at Alabama after transferring from Michigan State to Washington, spoke about why he transferred and his answer was painfully blunt.
Some might look at this as a shot at Michigan State, but to me it’s just honestly. And he might be right.
Alabama WR Germie Bernard with a compliment and shot at MSU:
— Emmett Matasovsky (@E_Matasovsky57) February 27, 2026
“Jayden Reed and Keon Coleman took me under their wing… MSU wasn’t going to be the best place to showcase the talent that I had.” pic.twitter.com/G9FKqOJhY3
Bernard was also complimentary of Michigan State, saying that Jayden Reed and Keon Coleman took him under their wing during his freshman season in East Lansing.
Unfortunately, he and Coleman decided to transfer after that 2022 season, and it turned out to be the right move for both guys. Coleman went to Florida State where his Seminoles went undefeated in the regular season and just missed the playoff. He wound up as a second-round pick and Michigan State was really bad during that same season.
Bernard went to Washington and then followed Kalen DeBoer to Alabama. There, he became one of the best receivers in the country and now he looks like a Day 2 pick.
Although I do believe that Courtney Hawkins could have gotten Bernard to the league, I agree that there were too many other factors at play holding him back. Hawkins can only do so much, but he’s not calling the plays nor throwing Bernard the ball. Germie made a business decision like Coleman did, but here’s to hoping the “they can’t get me to the NFL” narrative ends with this new coaching staff.
I trust Pat Fitzgerald to fix that.