Aug. 26—MITCHELL — As part of Dakota Wesleyan University football’s traditional run-heavy offense, the offensive line has one of the more important jobs on the field.
Helping the group along the way is a former lineman himself.
Advertisement
Ever since his playing days ended at Minnesota State University, Mankato, where he was an all-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference offensive lineman, Mike Bernarde has graced a football sideline, working with players from both lines and tight ends to special teams units.
Entering his fifth campaign as the offensive line coach for the Tigers, and third as the team’s running game coordinator, Bernarde’s goal for the group is simple.
“One goal every year for the individuals and the group is to realize and meet their full potentials,” Bernarde said. “Whether it’s in football, weightlifting, community service or anything else, we want them to become better men.”
Prior to joining the Tigers, Bernarde served as the MSU assistant offensive line coach in 2014 before a five-year stint as the Mavericks’ tight-ends coach. He transitioned to become the special teams coordinator in 2020 while also working with the team’s defensive line.
Advertisement
Bernarde, along with quarterbacks coach Torren Devericks, running backs coach Luke Loudenberg and head coach Alex Kretzschmar, are entering their third year leading the offensive side of the ball together. While additional coaches and student aids have cycled through the program, building a strong rapport with one another has served well when building a gameplan in the present.
“Having that familiarity, we know what’s expected,” Kretzschmar said. “We know what we want to try and accomplish on each play and executing the proper techniques, whereas in 2023, we had to make sure we were on the same page when we were first working together.”
Bernarde has pushed his players on the offensive line to grow into trusted leaders for the Tigers, regardless of their class, in addition to guiding them towards on-field improvement.
At the same time, he’s always made himself available to those who need more than guidance about the game, strengthening relationships with the players at DWU and Tigers alumni. Bernarde has kept in touch and given advice to former DWU linemen AJ Kortermeyer and Parker Grotjohn as they transitioned into their own coaching roles out of college, while also proving to be more than a coach to the current DWU roster.
Advertisement
“Coach Bernarde cares about you as a person,” junior offensive lineman Brock Dyer said. “He’s going to get on you as a player, but he wants what’s best for you. He loves to go that extra mile for us specifically because we know we can do it.”
“Once they come to DWU, it reaches the point of how I can be a mentor to help you learn from my mistakes in life so I can help them get better at theirs,” Bernarde added. “It’s not helping out guys to want to go into a coaching profession, but it’s also helping guys out with going into a different field.”
DWU will boast a different look to its offensive line, having lost five of the team’s six primary linemen from a year ago, including Kortemeyer, who is now the head football coach of Mount Vernon/Plankinton, and all-Great Plains Athletic Conference first teamer John Pica, who transferred to South Dakota State University.
Dyer boasts the most game action on the line, having appeared in seven contests last season as part of the rotation which helped the Tigers rush for 176.2 yards per game, the third-best mark in the GPAC. Beyond Dyer, only Jake Hedges appeared in games in 2024, making three total appearances.
Advertisement
Bernarde has looked to senior Calvin Wright Jr. as someone who’ll slide into any role that’s asked of him along with junior Carson Kruggel, as each player has experience at center, guard and tackle. Above all else, everyone will be looking to see how everyone orchestrates an assignment in unison.
“We’re five guys playing as one,” Dyer said. “If one guy messes up out of the five, it disrupts what we want to do. Communication’s always something that can be improved, but because of how tight we are, I feel like we’re going to be able to really excel.”
“We have to start slow and then build on it,” Kretzschmar added. “When it comes to schemes, we don’t want to get real complicated. You want to make sure that you’re keeping it simple so the guys can play fast and confident.”
DWU opens the season with its annual rivalry clash with Dakota State at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 30, at Joe Quintal Field, where the Tigers look to reclaim the Chamber of Commerce trophy following a 34-3 Trojans win a year ago in Madison.
Advertisement
“They want to compete,” Bernarde said of his unit. “We came together and talked with everyone about things we need to strive for to be better and everybody wants to be as best as they possibly can be.”
