Meet Bengals rookie sensation Giovani Bernard

Tom Pelissero | USA TODAY Sports

Ask Giovani Bernard's brother for something no one knows about the Cincinnati Bengals' rookie running back, and four things come to mind: he's double-jointed, he can snowboard, he listens to rave music and he kept feeding his sweet tooth before the NFL scouting combine.

"It was candy, cupcakes, Hi-C fruit punch – stuff you shouldn't even put in your system at that time," Yvenson Bernard told USA TODAY Sports by phone last month. "During the combine process, I was so pissed at him – like, 'You can't eat that stuff!"

Giovani Bernard hears this kind of advice all the time. Yvenson was once an NFL prospect himself – a member of the vaunted 2008 running back class that included Jamaal Charles, Matt Forte, BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Chris Johnson, Felix Jones, Darren McFadden, Rashard Mendenhall, Ray Rice and Jonathan Stewart – before a balky knee derailed his chances.

Now 28 and retired after spending parts of four seasons in the Canadian Football League, Yvenson is coaching high school football, teaching special education and talking daily with Gio, 21, who always listens to his big brother – and is getting used to occasionally saying no.

"Especially during the combine, I didn't want to be messed with," Giovani Bernard said. "I was in my own little zone. If I wanted a Snickers bar, if I wanted my Skittles, I was going to have it."

It's all part of the growing-up process for Giovani Bernard, the laid-back son of a widowed south Florida dry cleaner who played only two seasons at North Carolina before turning pro and becoming the first running back drafted (37th overall).

On the field, Gio is showing his small (5-9, 208 pounds), quick frame can be an asset in the Bengals' offense. His breakout performance in Thursday's loss to the Miami Dolphins – nine carries for 79 yards and two touchdowns, including a Barry Sanders-esque cutback and weave for a 35-yard score – cemented his candidacy for offensive rookie of the year.

"His style of play is so much like mine that it freaks me out," Yvenson said. "I'm looking at him running the ball and I'm like, 'Make a left, make a right, or use this move, and he does it. It's like, 'Oh, crap – that's kind of scary.' It's like I'm playing Madden and controlling it."

Off the field, Giovani is getting used to life as an adult and a local celebrity, though he spends much of his downtime 20 minutes away in Kentucky with his girlfriend, Chloe.

He recently bought a used BMV, allowing him to stop driving Chloe's mother's minivan, which provided his memorable arrival to training camp on the HBO series "Hard Knocks". And he's mostly cut out the sweets, though he'll occasionally house a bag of SunChips in one sitting.

"I can be smart. I'm not eating junk food all day," Bernard said. "I know that's not the right path to staying in the game for a while. When you're just coming out of college, you're 21 – I'm going to have a sweet tooth here and there. I'm not going to die if I have a couple of Oreos."