For more than a year, Mackenzy Bernadeau prepared for his shot.
The Waltham High and Bentley University alumnus had already done more than many had ever imagined. He was selected in the NFL Draft. He made an opening day roster. He dressed for five games in a Carolina Panthers uniform as a rookie.
But that wasn't enough. Ever since embracing his natural ability and dedicating himself to improving his overall skill level late in his high school career, Bernadeau expected more. He thought he could do it when the Panthers took him with the third-to-last pick of the 2008 draft. He was sure of it after a year of watching and waiting on the sideline.
Long since exceeding the expectations for a football player from a Division II school like Bentley, he is now out to redefine them.
``I knew coming in, basically, that they just wanted to see my development and the way I played in the preseason,'' he said. ``I thought I played at a great level for a rookie. But, at the same time, it wasn't at the level where I could contribute.
``For the first year, I knew it was my time to learn. But coming into this year, I felt I was capable of playing.''
And he did, a bit. Bernadeau entered the season as the primary backup at guard and center. He also played on special teams, and lined up as a fullback on goal-line offenses.
It was another step. A huge step. But Bernadeau still wasn't satisfied. He knew the terrain now. He knew he belonged. His blocking technique was better, he was stronger, and he was more confident.
He was just waiting for his chance to show it.
``I was ready to react,'' he said. ``I game planned every week that this was the week - this was the game - I was going to play.''
Then it happened. Not the way Bernadeau wanted it to happen. Not the way any player wants to get his time. But, in the NFL, it happened as it usually does when one player's misfortune is another player's chance to prove himself.
In a Nov. 15 game against the Atlanta Falcons, Carolina left tackle Jordan Gross went down with an ankle injury. Starting left guard Travelle Wharton moved over to protect quarterback Jake Delhomme's blind side. Bernadeau got the call to replace Wharton.
``When the trainer was looking at Jordan, I was just hoping he was all right,'' Bernadeau remembered. ``But when he came off the field, I went in. You keep thinking: This is your time to play. You have to be ready to help the team.
``I knew I was ready for the opportunity.''
Bernadeau played the second half of that game, and started that Thursday night's NFL Network prime time game against the Dolphins.
He has remained the starter ever since.
Sunday in Foxboro, he will make his fourth NFL start. It will be unlike any other he makes this season, and one he will always remember.
Against the Patriots. In Gillette Stadium. In front of dozens - if not hundreds - of friends and family from Waltham and Bentley.
Bernadeau will make his triumphant return home.
Underdog story
When Bernadeau was a senior at Waltham High, he had his choice of some pretty nice schools. While the Division I-A programs didn't exactly beat down his door, Division I-AA schools took an interest. But Bernadeau decided to stay close and attend Bentley.
Everyone else's loss was the Falcons' gain.
But four years as a starter on the Waltham campus still put him a fair distance from the eyes of NFL scouts. He suffered a knee injury his senior year - missing the final six games of the season - and that put his name further out of mind.
``He was a real interesting project,'' Patriots coach Bill Belichick said this week. ``A little bit of a late name. I don't think we had much on him in the fall. He came up in the spring and (we) worked him out. He's definitely a guy you felt had some physical skills.''
Bernadeau impressed at the Boston College pro day and worked out throughout the winter and early spring in New Jersey, while continuing to study toward his degree at Bentley.
As draft day approached, there was buzz he might get picked. But Bernadeau was among those trying to downplay expectations. He knew all about the odds stacked against a relatively unknown player, from a very small school, coming off an injury.
So for two days that weekend, he waited for the call he desperately wanted, but dared not pin all his hopes on getting.
``I would say he falls into that category of a talented guy that a lot of teams in the league wanted to work with,'' Belichick said. ``But small school, not a lot of experience, long way to go from a technique standpoint, and at what price do you want to take that player?''
As Sunday afternoon rolled on, and ESPN's rabid weekend audience dwindled to a few hardcore draft junkies and the hopeful relatives of long-shot selections across the country, it looked as though the price of a pick might be too high for the raw kid from a little business school in Massachusetts.
Then pick No. 250 zipped across the bottom of the screen.
Mackenzy Bernadeau. Offensive Lineman. Bentley.
``I think with that position,'' Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio said this week, ``especially offensive line, you're really looking for the requisite traits ... makeup, their toughness, their playing strength. And then you hope with a player like that, if he has those necessary traits, that you bring him into your program and that you can develop him like we've done with some of the offensive linemen here in the past.
``He was someone that we were certainly cognizant of, somebody that given the right opportunity, that we would want to work with. He's certainly made the most of his chances in Carolina.''
Said Belichick: ``Obviously, a good pick by Carolina.''
Seizing the chance
Bernadeau knew the Panthers would only wait so long for him to develop on the far reaches of the 53-man roster. He set out this summer to prove he could contribute.
``I felt I had to work a little bit on run blocking from a strength standpoint,'' he determined. ``The first day of camp (as a rookie) wasn't as easy as I thought it might be. I had to adjust to run blocking against a defensive lineman who was 330 pounds. That's not something I had to do in college.
``I had to adapt. I had to get quicker, stronger, faster.''
He went back to New Jersey to work on his strength. He went from bench pressing 380 pounds in college to 420 this summer. His weight went from 300 pounds around the time of the draft, to 312 as a rookie, to 320 this season upon his 6-foot-4 frame.
He was ready.
``I came in with the idea that I wanted to compete for a starting position,'' he said. ``I didn't get the starting job. But I got the backup job at two spots. I knew that any day I could get thrown in there.''
Then he did. Now he plans to stay.
``He had all the physical tools,'' said Carolina coach John Fox in a conference call with New England media yesterday. ``He just (needed) some development. He sat around and did some special teams things, and I think sat in those meetings and learned from some veteran guys.''
It hasn't been the easiest year in Carolina. The Panthers have lost more games this season (7) than they've won (5).
Bernadeau has not been immune to the ups and downs.
``We all had a pretty rough outing offensively vs. the Jets,'' Fox said of Carolina's 17-6 loss two weeks ago. ``I thought he rebounded nicely last week against Tampa Bay (in a 16-6 victory).''
``It gets more comfortable as we go each week,'' Bernadeau said of the starting duties. ``It's getting so I fit right in with the tackle next to me.
``There's no hesitation now. It's not a feeling of just wanting to get the first play over with. You know at the start of the game that you have to get in there, focus, and get the job done to the best of your ability.''
Homecoming king
Although Bernadeau is intent on focusing on the immense task at hand on Sunday, the significance of lining up against Tom Brady and the Patriots at Gillette Stadium is not lost on the 23-year-old.
``It's funny,'' he said. ``I'm going to be coming home to play against the team I rooted for growing up. It's one of the stadiums I always wanted to play in.''
Bernadeau said his first Patriots game at Gillette was when he and a friend went to see them play Miami during his sophomore year at Bentley.
His view will be much more close up this time.
``It's definitely exciting,'' he said, ``especially knowing I'm going against a player like (Pats defensive tackle) Vince Wilfork - someone I followed in high school.''
Around where he once sat as a fan will be a lot of other people he knows from Bentley and Waltham High. And they won't be rooting for the Patriots - at least not when Carolina back Jonathan Stewart is running behind the blocking of No. 73.
``I've heard from a lot of people who have tickets for the game,'' he said, ``so I know I will have a lot of people watching me.''
As far as the inundation of ticket requests, Bernadeau said it wasn't too bad. But he decided to keep his allotment in the family. Although he won't be in town long, he will get a chance to have dinner with them on Saturday night before turning his attention to the 1 p.m. kickoff the next day.
``It will be nice the day before seeing everyone,'' he said, ``but there can be no distractions when you are playing the Patriots.''
Bernadeau said once the game starts it will be like he is in any other stadium playing any other team. He has a job to do. It's a job he's earned, albeit one he knows carries no guarantees.
But he's used to proving himself. Once a no-name kid from a no-name school in Waltham, he's now making a name for himself in the National Football League.
(Scott Souza is a Daily News staff writer. He can be reached at 781-398-8006 or ssouza@cnc.com.)
