Cutdown Day

If the Princeton men's lacrosse team couldn't win the NCAA championship last spring, then TigerBlog is glad that it was Maryland that did. 

Maryland defeated Princeton 13-8 in the semifinals and then Cornell 9-7 in the final. In doing so, the Terps became the first team since Loyola in 2012 — meaning the first team in the shot clock era — to hold both of its Final Four opponents to under 10 goals. Maryland also prevented the 2022 Tigers from becoming the first team in program history to be in double figures in every game of a season.

The accomplishment of the Maryland defense speaks volumes about the team's defensive coordinator, right? And who would that be?

It would be Jesse Bernhardt, himself one of the top defensemen in the world the last decade. Why was TB rooting for Maryland if Princeton couldn't win? It's because Jesse Bernhardt was Princeton's defensive coordinator before he went on to Maryland. 

Bernhardt spent one season at Princeton before being replaced by the current D coordinator, Jeremy Hirsch, who himself built a defense that made it back to Championship Weekend. 

As for Bernhardt, TB learned a lot about him in the one year he was at Princeton, including that his favorite movie is "The Great Escape." He also learned about the Bernhardt family, with his father Jim, older brother Jake and younger brother Jared.

Jake is the offensive coordinator at Maryland, joining his brother on the staff this year after five years at Vermont. Jim's sport was football, and he was a longtime professional and college coach.

And Jared? Well, he's just an athletic freak. Like his two older brothers, he played lacrosse at Maryland, winning the Tewaaraton Award in 2021. He would certainly have been a dominant force in the Premier Lacrosse League, except he wanted to use his remaining year of eligibility to play college football.

He did so last year at Ferris State as a quarterback. He was so good at it that Ferris State won the Division II national championship. Then he signed as an undrafted free agent with the Atlanta Falcons, who brought him in as a wide receiver.

 To recap, Bernhardt played one year of college football as a quarterback and then went to an NFL training camp as a wide receiver, a position he has never before played. What happened next? He stood out all through the summer, and yesterday he made the team as the roster was trimmed to 53.

Of course, a lot happens after "final" cuts and before the first kickoff of the regular season. Still, it's quite a testament to what kind of athlete Bernhardt is. 

The day of the final cuts is always a brutal one in the NFL. There are players who are so close to fulfilling a lifelong dream who have that door slammed shut in their faces. For most of the ones who are cut and not picked up by a practice squad, their football days are likely over.

Also, the difference between a player who makes it and a player who doesn't has to be minimal. The stress has to be significant in the hours leading up to the deadline.

Princeton grad Jesper Horsted found himself on the right side of the cutdown day as he made the Las Vegas Raiders' 53-man roster. Again, as is the case with Bernhardt, who knows what could happen between now and the opener.

Still, Horsted has continued to be what he has always been since the first he put on an NFL uniform with the Chicago Bears after being a key cog in Princeton's unbeaten 2018 team (John Lovett, the 2018 Bushnell Cup winner as Princeton's quarterback, was put on injured reserve by the Miami Dolphins last week).

Horsted moved from wide receiver at Princeton to NFL tight end. He was with the Bears for three years, splitting his time between the active roster and the practice squad. His career regular season stats to date are 10 receptions for 108 yards, and three of those catches have gone for touchdowns. 

TigerBlog has written this before several times, and he stands by it: given a chance to play regularly, Horsted will be a consistent contributor who will put up solid NFL tight end numbers. 

Hopefully he gets that chance in Las Vegas this year. 

He cleared a big hurdle yesterday.