Francis Bernard (American football)


Francis Bernard is an American football linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League. He played college football at Utah and BYU.

High school career

After playing his freshman year of high school football at Bingham High School, Bernard later transferred to Herriman High School. He was named a 4A all-state running back at Herriman. He committed to Brigham Young on December 11, 2012.

College career

Coming in to the BYU program as a running back, Bernard saw playing time there his freshman year but then was asked to move to linebacker for his sophomore year with the emergence of Jamaal Williams. Before his junior season, Bernard announced that he would redshirt the year for personal reasons. It was later revealed that Bernard was also facing a full-season suspension for violating BYU's honor code. Because of that, Bernard decided to transfer to Utah.
After taking a year away from football, Bernard was granted permission to play for Utah in August 2018. After his 2019 senior season, Bernard was named first-team all-Pac-12 and participated in the 2020 Senior Bowl.

Professional career

On April 25, 2020, the Dallas Cowboys signed Bernard as an undrafted free agent.

Personal life

In October 2017, Bernard was cited in alcohol-and traffic-related offenses. Bernard is married with one son, and is an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, having taken a mission trip to Atlanta.