Clint Hurtt Reveals Workout That Sold Eagles On Uar Bernard

PHILADELPHIA – The texts to Howie Roseman kept coming at various intervals from Clint Hurtt during last April's NFL draft, with the gist being, ‘it'd be really cool to have this guy.'

Day 3 was underway, and Hurtt was itching for his general manager to take a late swing on Uar Bernard, a raw player the Eagles' defensive line coach had become enamored with when he went to Southwest Florida, to meet him and put him through a workout.

Hurtt was insistent in his texts to Roseman, who agreed that it felt right to take the defensive lineman from Nigeria who had played soccer and basketball growing up but never football, and made him the 251st overall pick.

"I think I was worried that I was pissing Howie off," said Hurtt, of his texts. "…When Howie did it, I was super excited and appreciative of that. I know, obviously, he thought the world of him. That's where it starts. Howie is the decision-maker with those things, and he does a hell of a job. But when it came to fruition, I was definitely excited about that."

As far as we know, Hurtt didn't have to cancel a golf vacation with his friends like Jeff Stoutland had to do when Roseman called the former offensive line coach and ordered him to Bradenton, Fla., to check out this Jordan Mailata kid.

Stout knew within minutes that Mailata was worth a seventh-round pick to land the Australian rugby player. So, Mailata became the 233rd player taken overall in 2018. Like Sout with Mailata, it didn't take long for Hurtt to like what he saw of Bernard.

Inside The Uar Bernard Workout

"When I got down, the workout was supposed to start at 9 a.m., and he was ready to go at 7:45," said Hurtt. "Full lather, full sweat, the whole deal. That, to me, means a lot. He was excited about the opportunity, and we were the first of 12 teams to go down and work him out. So, the kid knew this was coming up."

Bernard Being ready to roll was huge for Hurtt. Then came the workout.

"Anything he had made a mistake on, he immediately jumped back up and wanted to do it again," said the D line coach. "And a lot of guys are not like that. So, for me, what are the intangibles? How eager is he to learn? What was the work ethic like? Because you gotta have that in order to be able to fulfill the physical talent. And I felt good about that."

Hurtt's task is to mold Bernard into a competent NFL player, if not something greater than simply competent. He has repeated the same things defensive coordinator Vic Fangio and Jordan Davis have said about Bernard – that patience will be required for this raw prospect to achieve liftoff. And the defensive line coach is happy for that opportunity.

"I've always been a self-confident person, but the other thing is I believe in young people," said Hurtt. "I believe in players. And obviously, giving my very best of myself to them … I'm not putting my stamp on everybody. If you don't have a great work ethic, if I don't believe in your character or who you are as a person, I'm not putting my family's well-being in anybody's hands.

"But when I saw the kid's work ethic and character, great, he's an unbelievable human being. As people get a chance to spend some time with him, he's a great kid. So, I felt good about doing that."

This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/eagles/onsi as Clint Hurtt Reveals Workout That Sold Eagles On Uar Bernard.

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This story was originally published May 29, 2026 at 4:00 PM.