PHILADELPHIA — On the morning of the NFL Draft’s third day, Philadelphia Eagles assistant coach Clint Hurtt stood in the back corner of the team’s draft room vouching for a prospect who had never played football. The Eagles hold their annual “passion meeting” before Day 3 begins, offering staff members opportunities to put their stamp on players. Owner Jeffrey Lurie and general manager Howie Roseman sit in the front of the crowded room listening.This year, Hurtt offered a strong endorsement for 6-foot-4, 306-pound Nigerian defensive lineman Uar Bernard from the NFL’s International Player Pathway program.“I understand he hasn’t played,” Hurtt told the room as documented by team footage, “but this guy’s got more talent in his body physically than some of the guys that got drafted in the first two days.”Hurtt praised the “explosive,” “heavy-handed,” and “violent” traits. He acknowledged development was required. Hurtt wanted to be one to take on that challenge.“I trust myself,” Hurtt told the room, “and I believe in the kid.”The Eagles selected Bernard with the No. 251 overall pick, starting a fascinating experiment that worked eight years earlier when the Eagles drafted Jordan Mailata — eventually a franchise left tackle — in the seventh round. But even Mailata would admit his story is the exception. These experiments fizzle. Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio was in San Francisco when the 49ers tried to develop a record-setting British discus thrower into an NFL defensive tackle. He never played in an NFL game.Hurtt knows the volatility of any Day 3 draft prospect — much less one who has never played football before. After visiting Bernard to meet and evaluate him in person, Hurtt felt enough conviction to make the endorsement. His bouncer-like build might get the attention when on the sideline, but Hurtt’s work carries more weight than his frame.“I’m not putting my stamp on everybody,” Hurtt said in a small group interview last month. “If you don’t have a great work ethic, if I don’t believe in your character and 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. …So, I felt good about doing that.”“Coach Clint is a father to me,” Bernard said this spring, a sign of the connection the two have formed.Philadelphia Eagles draft Uar Bernard from the International Player Pathway ProgramRobert Mays, Derrik Klassen and moreAfter Bernard surfaced on the Eagles’ radar and he dazzled at the NFL’s HBCU showcase this spring with a 39-inch vertical jump, 130-inch broad jump and 4.63-second 40-yard dash, the Eagles sent Hurtt to meet him in person in Florida. Bernard was scheduled to meet with 12 NFL teams; the Eagles were the first. Hurtt’s objective was to understand the work ethic and personality. The football skills could be taught, but Bernard needed the character and work ethic to maximize his physical tools. Bernard’s workout was scheduled for 9 a.m.“He was ready to go at 7:45 — full lather, full sweat, the whole deal, and that, to me, means a lot,” Hurtt said. “And then when I started the workout with him, it was like anything he had made a mistake on, he immediately jumped back up and wanted to do it again, and a lot of guys are not like that. So, for me, it was, what are the intangibles? How eager was he to learn? What was the work ethic like? Because you got to have that in order to be able to fulfill the physical talent, and I felt good about that.”Hurtt is not the reason the Eagles selected Bernard. Roseman has final say on these decisions, and the Eagles have a scout assigned to the IPP program. But Hurtt would be the one tasked with developing him. And Hurtt was not quiet about his interest. He joked that he was “worried I was pissing Howie off” during the draft because he kept texting the general manager with reminders about Bernard.Hurtt, who was the Seattle Seahawks’ defensive coordinator before coming to Philadelphia in 2024, has earned credibility with his track record. Milton Williams and Jordan Davis developed into two of the highest-paid defensive tackles in the NFL under his tutelage, and Jalen Carter and Moro Ojomo are next in line for big paydays. He’s coached defensive linemen since Vince Wilfork played at the University of Miami. In fact, his decade as a defensive line coach in college at Miami, Louisville and Florida International is what he’s drawing upon while working with Bernard.“Sometimes not every kid you get when you’re coaching college kids has played football since they were six and seven. Sometimes you get kids who didn’t start playing until 11th or 12th grade,” Hurtt said. “Obviously that’s still more football knowledge than (Bernard) currently has coming into it, but at least I can kind of lean back on that. So, you’re teaching kids how to get into a stance — not only the rules and the do’s and don’ts of football, but obviously schematics and why you do what you do, and all those kinds of things, getting a stance, alignments, adjustments, and things of that nature.”Even starting from ground zero, Bernard is learning the on-field lessons with some of the league’s top players in the same sessions. When Hurtt joined Seattle’s staff in 2017, Pete Carroll encouraged assistants to continue coaching veterans such as Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor, Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright. Even if they could operate the defense on an advanced level, perhaps there’s a coaching point that could be reinforced or even something they might have missed years earlier. Hurtt wants Bernard to learn as Davis and Ojomo do.That doesn’t belie the special circumstances that Bernard requires, though. Mailata’s development was a proof of concept — and remains a triumph in former offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland’s career. Bernard and Hurtt met at 7 a.m. daily throughout the spring. They met again in the afternoon. Hurtt critiqued technique, alignments and assignments. It was all conducted on a coaching tightrope, because Hurtt emphasized that maintaining Bernard’s confidence is essential. He’s facing NFL offensive linemen. It’s not supposed to look refined.“You’re going to get humbled,” Hurtt conceded. “I don’t want to put him in a situation where he was like, do I really belong?”Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Uar Bernard is pictured during minicamp at Jefferson Health Training Complex. (Bill Streicher / Imagn Images)When you watch Bernard in practice, you see that there’s work to do and years of development ahead. Mailata said the inexperience and unfamiliarity cannot be avoided in drills, although the power Bernard generated and the quickness in his movements were apparent when Mailata saw him train.The question of whether Bernard belongs isn’t coming from teammates. They know how an NFL athlete looks and moves. Bernard is beyond what even they typically encounter. Mailata told the story of Bernard in the weight room repping bent-over trap-bar rows at 315 pounds. Even the strongest players in the room were impressed.“Uar is a freak; he is also not of this planet,” Mailata said. “He’s just freakishly strong, freakishly fast, and when — I can’t even compare him to me, just because he’s just, again, not of this world, just playing like metrics and numbers-wise. You see him, his effort on the film, once he puts it all together, I think it’s a wrap.”Size and athleticism will not be enough. If it were, Fangio wouldn’t have precedent for this not working. But the reason why Mailata’s story is frequently referenced is that there aren’t many NFL players who first latched a helmet at an NFL practice. Mailata’s story is so rare, yet also makes it seem so attainable. Mailata sees somebody thinking and learning, which is a good place to start for a player with Bernard’s tools.“Every case is different. I think we should not draw comparisons (between) my story and Uar’s story,” Mailata said. “I think two different positions, two different people. I think my story has influenced people’s opinion of whether it will work out or not. I think it will work out, but only time will tell. It’s how much time he pours in, and I’m going to make sure that he pours in every little bit, every last drop into that bucket, and so we can get another great story out of Uar and he can represent his country, his family, his people on one of the biggest stages in the world.”Just as Hurtt has become a father figure to Bernard, Bernard described his teammates as “big brothers.” Hurtt watched Bernard acclimate to the locker room, opening up from the shy kid who arrived for meetings in May into a more comfortable presence by the end of the offseason program. And he’s found ways to bridge the gap of any cultural divide. There was an OTA session in May when a Tupac Shakur song pulsated over the speakers. Bernard, the quiet seventh-round pick from Nigeria, started singing word-for-word.“The guys went nuts,” Hurtt said.Bernard forged a close bond with Joshua Weru, an undrafted rookie who’s in a similar situation as a rugby player from Kenya transitioning to football. Weru was also with Bernard in the International Player Pathway program. Davis, Ojomo and Ta’Quon Graham have been veteran resources for him. He speaks with his mother in Nigeria every day. He also misses West African cuisine. He’s found a local restaurant (Eatwell Philly) in Old City to satiate that palate. He does not make it out much, though — “coming into the building is fun for me,” he said — and knows why he’s in Philadelphia.For somebody who’s 6-foot-4 and 306 pounds, progress will be measured with baby steps more than giant leaps. Hurtt will measure those steps. There’s a reason he spoke up in the draft room. And he might need to speak up in a few more draft meetings before Bernard’s development is even realized. The Eagles are willing to wait.“You got to understand: He’s going to need time,” Hurtt said. “Anybody thinks it’s going to happen overnight, you’re kidding yourself. But he’s coming along well, he’s working hard, and the group is really taking well to him.”