Bernhard on Appalachian St. decision: ‘You’ve got to go where you’re most wanted’

ASHLAND – In the end, it came down to choosing between two “dream” schools and the right school for Ashland High School star quarterback Nathan Bernhard.

The 6-foot-6, 230-pound junior has been one of Ohio’s most high-profile college football recruits since before his sophomore season. He has attended 18 college camps, had more than 30 college visits and traveled more than 5,500 miles on his recruiting trail over the last two-plus years.

When he finally announced his commitment April 25 on social media – Division I Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C. – it felt like everything had materialized in fast-forward.

In early April, the University of Michigan became the 13^th program to offer Bernhard a spot on its 2026 roster.

He said in a conversation with Ashland Source on Sunday that the Wolverines and Ohio State had always been “dream” programs on his personal college radar.

Not long after Michigan made its offer, the Buckeyes began showing increased interest and, according to Bernhard, likely were close to making an offer as well.

In the midst of his burgeoning conversations with the two Big Ten powerhouses, Bernhard also had Appalachian State and its new head coach, Dowell Loggains, expressing a large commitment to him.

The Sun Belt program – which ironically climbed into college football legend in 2007 after toppling fifth-ranked Michigan in one of the biggest upsets in the sport’s history – offered him after he attended the Mountaineers’ spring game April 12.

Bernhard said he loved the vibes he got from the campus and at the game inside Appalachian State’s 40,000-seat Kidd Brewer Stadium. Roughly 15,000 fans attended the spring game, and during home games last fall there were never fewer than 33,500 in the seats.

“There really is a rich tradition there and people care about it,” Bernhard said.

He said the visit and conversations with Loggains and other ASU coaches checked all the boxes for him.

From that point, things sped up even more.

He was in touch with both Michigan and Ohio State again last week and finally had the clarity he needed.

“It really came down to Michigan and Ohio State – just hearing what they had to say and the information I was getting from them,” Bernhard said. “Ultimately, that led to my decision to take the App State offer.

“They made it clear that I was their No. 1 guy and I was the guy they wanted,” he added. “Ultimately, you’ve got to go where you’re most wanted because that’s gonna maximize your chances of actually playing.”

At long last, the 17-year-old Ashland kid who put together a first-team All-Ohio performance last fall while guiding the Arrows to a 12-1 season – and who also had offers to Penn State, Iowa State and Louisville before taking a snap as a sophomore – had chosen his future.

Longtime Ashland head coach Scott Valentine said he spoke with multiple coaches prior to Saturday’s annual North South Classic all-star game who had either been to or knew a lot about Appalachian State.

He said they all gave ringing endorsements.

“If you ask Nate who was offered by (many of the schools who had offered him), he knew exactly who they had offered, he knew where he was in that mix of players and he had a good feel for what the different programs were doing,” Valentine said.

“I really feel that he’s handled it all with maturity and kept his head on his shoulders. It’s a grueling process for sure when a kid’s going through it.”

Bernhard will learn under a new Appalachian State coaching staff that knows quite well how to turn quarterbacks into superstars.

Loggains and new ASU quarterbacks coach Riley Watkins were at South Carolina the last two seasons, where they helped develop dual-threat quarterback LaNorris Sellers – a contender for the 2025 Heisman Trophy – and current New Orleans Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler.

Loggains also spent 17 years coaching in the NFL, where he put in time as either an offensive coordinator or quarterbacks coach with five different teams, including the Cleveland Browns (2014).

Even more eye-opening, the Mountaineers’ new associate head coach, Clyde Christensen, was on NFL coaching staffs for two different Super Bowl championships and has coached the likes of Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Andrew Luck and Jameis Winston during his 45-year career.

He was the position coach for Brady during the final three years of his legendary NFL career.

Bernhard said it was easy to get caught up in the chatter of Power Four programs, but he felt confident in his decision knowing who will be guiding him at Appalachian State.

“Part of what made the decision a little bit difficult at first was, in your head, you think it’s probably the best decision to make,” Bernhard said. “But there’s that part of you (thinking) you got eight Power Four offers and the expectation is that you were gonna end up at a Penn State, Michigan, Ohio State or something like that. And the possibility for that was really there.

“But what it boils down to, yeah, it would be cool initially and the community would have loved to have a kid going to Ohio State or (somewhere like that). But at the end of the day … if you never see the field there, what does it matter? You end up transferring to a smaller school anyway.”

Watkins was in Ashland on Monday to link up with Bernhard, who said the meeting went well. they spoke about the plan to have an official visit to ASU in the next couple months, drills to focus on in his workouts and how he could help the Mountaineers recruit the rest of their Class of 2026.

Valentine said Bernhard would have gotten plenty more Division I offers had he been open to playing tight end or defensive end as opposed to quarterback, but the junior loves the position too much.

Bernhard said all 14 schools that offered him – also including Indiana, Michigan State, West Virginia, Duke, Toledo, Bowling Green, James Madison, Jacksonville State and Akron – offered him as a quarterback.

“There are so many different things that college quarterback coaches look for,” Valentine said. “The toughest thing to help him through was just knowing that, ‘Hey, there are going to be certain guys that are going to see things that they really like about you and there are other guys that are going to see something that might not be what they’re looking for.’ So they might not show as much interest because of that.

“You could ask five different quarterback coaches how they coach certain things and you could get five different answers.”

Both Valentine and Bernhard stressed the importance of having such a supportive family along for the ride with him, and also noted his years of development under renowned quarterbacks coach Brad Maendler.

The junior won’t be able to make his commitment to Appalachian State fully official until signing day in December, but it’s clear he’s comfortable with his decision.

“It doesn’t come easily to anyone,” Valentine said, “and when you work as hard as he does, there’s no doubt he’s reaped the rewards of his hard work.”

(Check out Ashland Source on Saturday, May 3 for more details from this interview.)