In the aftermath of his first game as a member of the Premier Lacrosse League’s Denver Outlaws — a 12-9 loss to the Carolina Chaos on June 6 — Jared Bernhardt signed a few autographs, but walked freely through the crowds at American Legion Memorial Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Was that any way to treat the 2021 winner of the Tewaaraton Award — given to the top collegiate player — who then spent one season as a wide receiver for the Atlanta Falcons? Maybe not, but Bernhardt wasn’t complaining.

“They’re not even asking for me,” he said. “They’re probably asking for some of the other guys. I just blend in.”

Bernhardt’s debut did not unfold the way he — and fans of the former Maryland attackman — might have envisioned as he finished with zero points on five shots, one ground ball and one caused turnover. He found a little more success in Denver’s 9-7 win against the Philadelphia Waterdogs on Saturday when he scored one goal on five attempts.

Bernhardt admitted feeling “rusty” in his first competitive lacrosse game in four years. But his return to the PLL from the NFL could be a shot in the arm for the league and an Outlaws franchise seeking to build on last year’s appearance in the playoff quarterfinals.

“I think he’s just a difference-maker,” coach Tim Soudan said. “His athleticism has already presented itself, and he’s put himself in really good spots. I think he’ll be very hard to guard, and he’s gonna create instant offense for us whether it’s him moving the ball out of his stick on a slide or whatever it might be.”

For the longest time, lacrosse seemed to be Bernhardt’s immediate future. As a freshman, he started all 19 games for the Terps squad that captured the 2017 NCAA championship. As a fifth-year senior, he amassed team highs in goals (71) and points (99) en route to capturing the Tewaaraton Award and wrapped up his career as the school’s all-time leader in goals (202) and points (290).

Inspired by the memory of his late father Jim, who played football and lacrosse at Hofstra and was an assistant coach for the Houston Texans before his death in June 2019, Bernhardt pursued football, transferring to Division II Ferris State for the second time (his first attempt was waylaid by the coronavirus pandemic in 2020) and racking up a combined 2,743 passing and rushing yards and 37 touchdowns while leading the Bulldogs to the national title.

Bernhardt was signed by the Atlanta Falcons shortly after not getting selected in the 2022 NFL draft and made the team’s 53-man roster out of training camp. But on Oct. 22, he was placed on injured reserve with a groin injury and then announced his retirement from the NFL on May 22, 2023.

On Sept. 23, 2024, Bernhardt signed with the Canadian Football League’s BC Lions. On May 14, he was released by the club.

As dedicated as he was to football, Bernhardt stayed connected to lacrosse. On Aug. 31, 2023, he was hired by Maryland coach John Tillman as the program’s director of player development, partnering with older brothers Jake and Jesse as offensive and defensive coordinators, respectively.

After his release from the BC Lions, Bernhardt joined the PLL as a free agent, signing a two-year contract with Denver. The move reunited Bernhardt with Jesse, a starting defenseman, and former Terps teammates Logan Wisnauskas, Nick Grill, Luke Wierman and Logan McNaney. He also joined an attack headed by fellow Tewaaraton winners Wisnauskas (2022), Duke’s Brennan O’Neill (2023) and Notre Dame’s Pat Kavanagh (2024).

“I’m familiar with a lot of the guys, whether I played against them or played with them,” he said. “So that kind of made it easy just coming in, and they’ve been awesome accepting me onto the team.”

Coaches and teammates didn’t begrudge Bernhardt for his slow start against the Chaos. But he refused to use his absence from the game as a crutch.

“I feel like it’s an excuse,” he said. “You’re signed on to go do your job and perform at your best regardless of that situation. But being realistic, you haven’t played in that long, so you’re trying to get back into the swing of things. A lot of the guys on the team have made it easy just coming in, and that was a big factor.”

As disappointed as he was by his performance on June 6, Bernhardt was more critical of his inability to help the Outlaws defeat the Chaos. That sentiment didn’t surprise Jesse Bernhardt.

“He holds himself to a high standard and probably didn’t feel like he came out the way he wanted to, and the team result was a loss,” he said. “So I’m sure for him, he was just kind of chomping at the bit to have another opportunity to get back out there. He dipped his toe in the water and knows what to expect of a PLL weekend.”

If there is one decision Jared Bernhardt hasn’t scrutinized, it was opting for football over lacrosse.

“Some people may have all the speculation about leaving at the top of your game, but for me, I just feel that was the right move for me,” he said. “I wouldn’t change it. As I said, a lot of great experiences, ups and downs and a lot of good people you meet along the way, and if I didn’t do that, I wouldn’t have had that stuff. So I’m fortunate enough to have been able to go through all of that.”

Soudan is confident Bernhardt will regain the form that made him so productive at the college level.

“I think the thing that you see as a coach is just the sheer athleticism that he has,” the coach said. “I think he got to really good spots, and he made some really good passes. So I think it’s coming back really quick. I think he’s put a ton of time into it, too. When he was going through making this decision, he was practicing all the time. So I think at full speed, it’s a little different, and he’ll get used to it really quickly.”

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