Jordan Luallen trained some of the most freakish athletes at the 2026 NFL combine: A 245-pound edge rusher who vertical-jumped 41 inches, a jumbo wide receiver who ran a 4.3 40 and a 293-pound defensive tackle who ran 4.8. But Luallen told The Athletic he’s never seen an athlete like the one he’s been training for the past 10 weeks for this year’s NFL draft.
Uar Bernard (pronounced “ooh-are”) measured in earlier this week at the NFL’s HBCU showcase at 6-4 1/2, 306 pounds with 11-inch hands and almost 36-inch arms. Other people who have spent their lifetimes in football say Bernard looks like a Marvel creation. Bernard’s body fat: 6 percent. He vertical-jumped 39 inches and broad-jumped 10-10, which was 14 inches more than any other defensive tackle did at this year’s combine. His 40-yard dash: 4.63.
“Hands down, he is the most explosive athlete I’ve ever seen in my life,” Luallen told The Athletic. “He broad jumped 10-10, and it was effortless. At 306 pounds. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Longtime quarterback coach George Whitfield was helping lead the offensive positional drills at the HBCU showcase at the Washington Commanders facility. After his work was done, the defensive players took the field. Whitfield couldn’t take his eyes off Bernard. He’d never seen anyone like that, either.
“It’s like watching (Victor Wembanyama),” Whitfield said. “The numbers don’t even do him justice. He’s 6-5, 310, and he’s got 6 percent body fat on him. NBA players don’t have 6 percent body fat on them.”
Later this month, the 21-year-old Bernard, along with a few other prospects from the NFL’s International Player Pathway program, will be in Pittsburgh for this year’s NFL Draft. Skyler Fulton, the head of the NFL’s IPP program, told The Athletic this week that he anticipates that both Bernard and another IPP D-lineman, Josh Weru, a 6-4 1/2, 244-pound edge rusher who jumped 41 1/2 inches and broad-jumped 11-2, will get picked on the draft’s third day. Fulton said Bernard’s progress “has been crazy to watch.”
Bernard began the training program Jan. 18 in Florida with Luallen. He came in at 295 pounds with 11 percent body fat. He vertical-jumped 32 inches and broad-jumped 9-4. To see the improvement in the 10 weeks of training is unlike anything Luallen has experienced.
“He was very naturally gifted when he walked in, but he made substantial improvement on everything,” he said. “He’s super freakin’ flexible, and he is way more fluid now.”
Uar Bernard is expected to be selected in the NFL Draft this month. (Courtesy of George Whitfield)
The strength and conditioning component is just a part of what the IPP program does with the international players. There’s also a football IQ component as well as actual physical football every day with football-specific drills. On the field, the D-linemen have worked with coaches Javon Gopie and Dave Cohen, a former longtime Wake Forest defensive line coach.
Bernard has come a long way in three years. He grew up in a small village in Nigeria, where most people are farmers, he said. His father was a policeman but passed away when Bernard was 16.
He wanted to do something different from most people in his area. “I wanted to go into real estate,” he said. But after getting noticed while playing basketball and told by a coach he should try American football, Bernard attended several camps in Africa before getting selected for the NFL’s IPP program. In the past decade, the program has put numerous players on NFL rosters. Eagles offensive tackle Jordan Mailata is the most notable IPP alum.
Bernard said playing in pads has been a big adjustment. He’s confident in his strength and his ability to be physical, but developing his technique and learning all that goes into D-line play is the biggest hurdle. The IPP has worked with a lot of elite athletes from overseas, but few have blossomed into NFL starters.
Over the past few years, Bernard has picked up a few things about football from YouTube. His football role models are Aaron Donald and Myles Garrett.
Fulton sees the determination in Bernard. Before IPP, Bernard was “sleeping in the gym, literally,” he said. Bernard would train in the gym and then train other people in the gym.
This whole journey has been very surreal. His biggest motivation is his mother. “I talk to her every day,” he said. “This has all been amazing. It’s like me living in my dreams. I can’t wait to put more work in.”
Asked what he’d think if he does get drafted later this month, Bernard said: “That’ll be like an answered prayer for me.”