SALT LAKE CITY — The University of Utah coaching staff welcomed former BYU linebacker Francis Bernard to the roster Monday, assuming a role he seemed destined to fulfill with the Cougars.

Bernard transferred to Utah after violating BYU’s honor code as a member of the football team and an arrest for misdemeanor impaired driving.

Before joining Utah, Bernard looked like the torchbearer at linebacker for BYU, carrying on a rich tradition of NFL quality players for the Cougars who had filled the same role. After switching from fullback under Bronco Mendenhall to linebacker under current head coach Kalani Sitake, Bernard displayed his impressive football instincts in his one season playing defense at BYU.

In 2016, Bernard recorded 79 tackles, including 5.5 for a loss, two sacks, three interceptions and recovered a fumble. Utah fans remember Benard for a particularly impressive one-handed interception in Rice-Eccles Stadium, amidst a 20-19 victory for the Utes. Bernard’s speed and athleticism resembled recent greats at BYU like Bryan Kehl, David Nixon and Kyle Van Noy.

While Utah has gotten the better of the rivalry with BYU recently, having won seven straight over the Cougars, BYU has consistently outperformed at the linebackers position. Outside of the pairing of Gionni Paul and Jared Norris, the Utes have consistently found themselves shorthanded in the middle of their defense.

Despite landing high-profile transfers like Sunia Tauteoli and Kavika Luafatasaga, the production at the linebacker position has suffered compared to Utah’s excellent defensive lines and secondary.

Bernard has a chance to change that.

Utah’s most experienced linebacker returning from last season is Cody Barton, a proven senior who may find himself starting Week 1 against Weber State, but is likely better suited in a rotational role. Needing more talent at the position, the Utes moved safety Chase Hansen down full-time to linebacker, while bringing in junior college transfer Bryant Pirtle to fill the need.

Backups Donovan Thompsons and redshirt freshman Devin Lloyd will continue to support the starters coming off the bench. Only Hansen in his sophomore season has production that rivals Bernard’s lone season at linebacker.

Related:

Utes add former BYU linebacker Francis Bernard to program

The long saga about former BYU linebacker Francis Barnard has come to an end.

In 2016, Hansen recorded 90 tackles, grabbed four interceptions and four fumbles as a safety. Should Bernard be able to recapture the play that made him a budding star at BYU, he has an excellent chance of winning a starting spot in Utah’s depth chart.

In recent history of the rivalry, several Utes have transferred to BYU and had success on the roster. Austin Lee appears to have earned a starting spot with the Cougars this season, after transferring from Utah to find more playing time. Most significantly, Harvey Langi transferred to BYU after serving an LDS Church mission in Florida, where he went on to start at linebacker and defensive end, before finding his way to the New England Patriots in the NFL.

Rarely, though, has there been a player who played for BYU, transferred to Utah, and found success on the field. Tight end Jake Murphy committed to BYU, but he ended up at Utah after serving an LDS Church mission in Australia and went on to be one of the best to ever play the position at Utah. Pita Taumoepenu followed a similar path, switching his commitment from BYU to Utah and growing into a prolific pass rusher with the Utes.

Bernard has little more than two weeks to earn that starting spot before the Utes opening game at Rice-Eccles, otherwise, he’ll have to work his way into the roster against players who have had more time to get acclimated to defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley’s scheme. Should he succeed, however, and recapture the prolific production he showed at BYU, he has a chance to etch his name into the "Holy War" history books.

Related topics