What Jalen Milroe sees from Alabama WRs, Germie Bernard

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – It’s hard to beat Jalen Milroe to the Mal M. Moore Athletic Facility in the morning. The Alabama quarterback is known to walk into the building by at least 4 a.m.

But Milroe isn’t the only Crimson Tide player who is an early riser. After Tuesday’s practice, he shared that one of Alabama’s wide receivers, Kendrick Law, is putting in the extra work.

“The No. 1 thing that I see from them is they’re self-driven and they’re hungry and they’re wanting to get better and they’re seeking information,” said Milroe of the Tide’s receiving corps. “The biggest thing that I see when I’m in the building, I’m seeing them meet with Coach (JaMarcus) Shephard, our receiver coach, trying to get better, looking over the tape. 

“You’ve got K-Law waking up at 5 a.m. in the morning, coming to the facility and getting our receivers together to watch tape and steadily try to get better. And that’s something that you need in the room. Every room needs a leader. Every room needs to have shared success, and that’s what the receiver group has.”

Law is one of six wideouts from last year’s team who returned for the 2024 season. He played in 13 games as a sophomore in 2023, starting three games, and last spring, former Alabama head coach Nick Saban said Law was someone who impacts his group with his toughness.

In addition to Law, the Tide welcomed back Kobe Prentice, Emmanuel Henderson, Jalen Hale (out with a knee injury), Cole Adams and Jaren Hamilton from last year. Three newcomers are also on campus for spring drills with Washington transfer Germie Bernard and freshmen Bubba Hampton and Caleb Odom (former tight end) joining the program this semester.

Milroe likes what he has seen from the entire receiver room through 13 practice sessions.

“There were a lot of explosive plays that happen at practice, and the first thing I saw was everyone was celebrating with each other,” Milroe said. “… We have shared success in each of the rooms. That’s one thing I can say about the receivers. They’re all explosive. 

“They’re all hungry. They come with different ages, but it doesn’t matter because when you get on the field, they all play explosive.”

Law, Prentice and Hale have the most experience of Alabama’s returning wide receivers, but as a transfer from UW, Bernard is the most familiar with the new offense Kalen DeBoer brought to Tuscaloosa. Bernard was the Huskies’ fifth-leading receiver with 34 receptions for 419 yards and two touchdowns, which is more than any returning UA wideout produced.

He could make an immediate for the Tide, and he received praise from the top quarterback.

“I like Germie a lot, Milroe said. “Great size. Great speed. Tough. Confident. And when you have a player that plays confident, it’s hard to stop them. I’m proud of him because of the leader he is when he came here. Because it’s a hard transition coming from Washington, now here. It’s a different environment. You’re now in the South. He’s not from the South. 

“To see where he is now, he’s been effective – and effective leader, an effective leader. I’m super proud of him for who is as a person but then as a player, he’s great for us, and he’s a great resource for our team to be successful.”

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