Berna An All-American

Fayetteville left guard Colby Berna received a packet today inviting him to play in next year’s Max Emfinger’s All-American Bowl Game Classic in Shreveport, La. “It feels really good to get something like this so early because we’re not even in spring ball yet,” Berna said. “It’s quite an honor, but it really puts a target on my back (for opponents) and means I have to work harder than ever.” Berna, a 6-foot-4, 280-pounder who runs the 40-yard dash in 5.1 seconds, became coach Bobby Petrino’s first verbal commitment at Arkansas in early February. He started six games a sophomore before paving the way to the Bulldogs’ Class 7A Championship last fall, the program’s first state title in 103 years. “He reminds me a lot of Lee Ziemba,” said Fayetteville coach Daryl Patton, referring to the former Rogers’ linemen who started at Auburn as a freshman last fall. “He’s a nice guy off the field, but on the field he has a nasty mean streak. “He really dominated at times last year. In the state championship game, we ran to the left side at least 85-90 percent of the time.” Berna was named to HSSTM's Super Squad and was one of 500 juniors invited to participate in the U.S. Army All-American Combine in San Antonio, Texas. He also was named an all-conference performer by league coaches and to several all-area and All-Arkansas teams by various media outlets. Emfinger has Berna listed as the No. 18 guard in the country.