6’4 230 LBS Hometown: Herriman, Utah Projected Rd:

Grade: 6.52

6.52 = Rookie Impact/Future starter (6.50-6.99)

SPARQ:

Overview

Francis Bernard started his college career as a running back for BYU. As a true freshman for the Cougars, he rushed for 334 yards on a 6.4 average to go along with 7 touchdowns.

His following season he switched to linebacker and became an instant contributor at the position, racking up 47 solo tackles, 5.5 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks, and an impressive 3 interceptions.

He would transfer to Utah following his first year at linebacker, and as a result had only only one year left of eligibility as a senior.

He made the most of his one year playing at Utah, finishing with 45 tackles, 7.5 tackles for a loss, 2 interceptions, and First-team All-Pac-12 honors.

As a former running back his athleticism is apparent. He may look big and the type of linebacker you would assume is just a thumper, but Bernard is more than that.

His athleticism shows up in coverage, where Bernard was solid. While his hips may not be the most fluid, he shows the ability to break on the ball, knows when to be physical with receivers coming over the middle, and even played the ball well on some occassions.

His awareness in zone is also solid as he always watches the quarterbacks eyes while also staying aware and reacting to any receiver that comes into his zone.

Another area his athleticism flashes is in his acceleration or burst. You see this most often when he is assigned with a QB spy. Bernard will spy for a couple seconds and when he decides to ditch the spy and rush the passer, he gets there in a blur, as his acceleration is great for the position.

Against the run, Bernard is up and down depending on the area. As a two year linebacker, his read & react is inconsistent. One game he will look instinctive, another he will bit on play-fakes and take bad angles (Oregon game is a good example of this).

Bernard shows the ability to shed blocks, and his upper body strength makes him strong at the point of attack. He knows how to extend and keep blockers at bey allowing him to disengage when he wants.

Fighting through traffic at the line Bernard excels, often going untouched on inside blitzes which again, is in part due to his burst and first step.

At the next level, Bernard can likely play any three of the linebacker positions in a base 4-3, though MIKE or SAM may be a better use of his skill set, as many young linebackers coming out these days lack the ability to shed blocks or shoot gaps effectively unlike Bernard.

The reason Bernard will likely be low on teams draft boards is his age. He graduated in 2013 and served a two year mission (as a Latter-day Saint) so he started college two years later than most. His official age is no where to be found online but he is likely 24-26.

Despite that, Francis Bernard is the most underrated linebacker in the class in my opinion, and I see him as a 3rd round talent at worst.

Game By Game Breakdown

Vs. USC (2019)

Stats: 2 Solo, 1 Assist, 3 Total Tackles, 0 TFL, 0 Def

Game Notes: (0:06) First play in zone coverage, breaks onto man on slant route to late. Hips did not look flexible there. (1:06) + Read/React, took perfect pursuit path to runner. (2:00) Another good angle to ball carrier. (2:07) Looked decently fluid here in zone. (3:47) Good coverage against slant to the middle. (4:51) Nice arm usage on inside blitz which led to a pressure. Like how once the QB got away from him he cut upfield in case the running back creeped back to catch a dump off. (5:20) Run stop, stayed patient to not bite on play fake and took correct angle to ball carrier. (5:53) Inside blitz, his 3rd blitz and his 3rd pressure. (7:18) Instincts on display. (7:35) Here he was too patient, should of met the RB closer to the line instead of waiting which allowed him to power his way into the endzone. (7:50) Missed tackle, could of had a better angle had he turned his hips quicker. (7:58) Shot the right gap but engaged with lineman and didn’t disengage before back got through the hole. (8:17) Shoots inside and gets into the backfield immediately, seems to have a knack of fighting through traffic at the line, his first step/explosion when accelerating may have something to do with it as it did on that play.

Overview: Manned the middle. Played faster than he looks, need to see more but his quickness looked pretty good too. Played disciplined and never over-committed or shot the wrong gap. Awareness and eye discipline in zone was solid. Was effective blitzing to the inside. Instinctive LB, seems to always know where the ball is going. Probably the best game in terms of playing the run I’ve seen of all the linebacker tape I have watched so far this year.

Grade: B+

Vs. Colorado (2019)

Stats: 3 Solo, 1 Assist, 4 Total Tackles, 1 TFL, 0 Def, 1 FF

Game Notes: (0:12) Comes off the edge and gets hands on the ball attempting to rip it out which he did. (2:27) + Read/React, can see the former running back in him on this play with how fluid he is running in space. (3:24) Took on blocker at the 2nd level and didn’t get blown back, extended and kept lineman at bey allowing him to get in on the tackle. (3:43) Coming off edge, while engaged with lineman tried getting around to the outside instead of the inside gap which is where the run went. (6:45) Instinctive play here snuffing out the screen. (7:50) Here you why he has potential in coverage. Notices Shenault coming over the middle on a slant and breaks onto him quickly getting there on time to have tight coverage. (8:01) You see it from another angle.

Overview: Bernard played well as did the entire Utah defense. Colorado didn’t get a first down until one minute into the 4th quarter. Bernard was instinctive and only had a couple of bad plays.

Grade: B-

Vs. Oregon (2019) (Pac-12 Championship)

Stats: 6 Solo, 4 Assists, 10 Total Tackles, 0 TFL

Game Notes: (0:16) Bit hard on the play fake. (0:34) Good at the point off attack taking on blocker at the 2nd level but whiffs when going for the runner. (0:53) Didn’t read the play well, played it bad as well getting boxed out by blocker. (2:13) Slips blockers and makes the tackle at the line stopping the running back from getting the 1 yard touchdown at the goaline. (4:10) Gives up catch in zone but actually played the ball nicely taking a good angle. Tight end barely caught it for 6 yards. (5:08) Nice open field tackle. (5:15) Took on blocker to the outside instead of staying put or shooting the inside gap where the runner went through. (5:27) All around nice play against the run, takes on blocker, disengages and makes the tackle only 2 yards downfield. (5:32) Shot the right gap but over committed and got blocked far into the backfield. (6:22) Took on blocker at the gap the runner took but the lineman got up under him and won the battle. Runner busted it for a big gain. (7:00) Bit hard on RPO, played runner instead of Herbert. (8:03) From the edge went around and behind to tackle the running back after a minimal gain. (8:42) Block on him by right guard sprung open the huge lane for the long touchdown run. Was too patient since he was biting often in the game, if he would of met the guard at the line maybe would of slowed the runner down and he would of had to take a different hole.

Overview: His read and react was really poor in this one and Oregon was running a lot of RPO so his performance suffered from it. Was instinctive against Colorado so makes me think he is inconsistent in that area as a former RB still learning. As many bad plays that he had, he had just as many run stops as well.

Grade: C-