Giovani Bernard Biography

Giovani Bernard, born November 22, 1991, played 10 seasons in the NFL as a professional running back. He played college football for the North Carolina Tar Heels and was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the second round of the 2013 NFL draft. After eight seasons with the Bengals, Bernard was released following the 2020 season and joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for two more seasons. In high school, he was ranked the No. 2 running back in Florida and the No. 12 running back in the U.S. by national recruiting services. Bernard attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and played for the Tar Heels from 2010 to 2012. His season-high performance came on September 24, 2011, when he rushed for 155 yards against Georgia Tech. He became the first running back at North Carolina to surpass 1,000 yards since Jonathan Linton achieved the milestone in 1997.