Rod Bernstine
{{Short description|American football player (born 1965)}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = Rod Bernstine
| number = 82, 33
| position = Running back
Tight end
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1965|2|8}}
| birth_place = Fairfield, California, U.S.
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 3
| weight_lb = 238
| high_school = Bryan {{nowrap|(Bryan, Texas)}}
| college = Texas A&M
| draftyear = 1987
| draftround = 1
| draftpick = 24
| pastteams =
- San Diego Chargers ({{NFL Year|1987|1992}})
- Denver Broncos ({{NFL Year|1993|1995}})
| highlights =
- Second-team All-American (1986)
- First-team All-SWC (1986)
| statlabel1 = Rushing yards
| statvalue1 = 2,990
| statlabel2 = Rushing average
| statvalue2 = 4.5
| statlabel3 = Receptions
| statvalue3 = 149
| statlabel4 = Receiving yards
| statvalue4 = 1,384
| statlabel5 = Total touchdowns
| statvalue5 = 24
| pfr = BernRo00
}}
Roderick Earl Bernstine (born February 8, 1965) is an American former professional football player who was a running back and tight end in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas A&M Aggies and was selected by the San Diego Chargers in the first round of the 1987 NFL draft with the 24th overall pick.{{Cite web |title=1987 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1987/draft.htm |access-date=2023-09-25 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}} Bernstine played in nine NFL seasons from 1987 to 1995. His best season as a pro came during the 1993 season as a member of the Denver Broncos, when he rushed for 816 yards and caught 44 receptions. Due to a loophole in official NFL rules he was the only active running back allowed to wear the number 82 while playing for the San Diego Chargers, a number reserved for wide receivers and tight ends. Upon being traded to the Denver Broncos in 1993 he changed his number to 33, an official running back number.
College career
Bernstine lettered at Texas A&M from 1983 to 1986. Before his sophomore season at Texas A&M, Bernstine reacted negatively after then-A&M coach Jackie Sherrill told him that he was being moved to tight end, after playing a year at running back. As a senior in 1986, he was named first team All-SWC at tight end.Burson (2004), p. 93. That same year, he set the school record for the most receptions in a single season with 65, a record that stood until 2010. Bernstine's 65 catches is still the school single-season record for most ever by a tight end.{{cite web|url=http://www.aggieathletics.com/records.php?SID=MFB&funct=20&type=1&list=24|title=Most Receptions - Season}}{{dead link|date=April 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
NFL career statistics
{{NFL predraft
| height ft = 6
| height in = 3
| weight = 238
| dash = 4.68
| ten split = 1.67
| twenty split = 2.68
| shuttle = 4.39
| vertical = 29.5
| broad ft = 9
| broad in = 4
| bench = 18
| arm span = 32 1/4
| hand span = 10
}}
| class="wikitable mw-collapsible" |
| colspan="2"| Legend |
|---|
| Bold
| Career high |
=Regular season=
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" | ||||||||||||
| rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Team ! colspan="2"| Games ! colspan="5"| Rushing ! colspan="5"| Receiving | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | |
| 1987 | SDG
| 10 || 2 || 1 || 9 || 9.0 || 9 || 0 || 10 || 76 || 7.6 || 15 || 1 | |||||||||||
| 1988 | SDG
| 14 || 13 || 2 || 7 || 3.5 || 5 || 0 || 29 || 340 || 11.7 || 59 || 0 | |||||||||||
| 1989 | SDG
| 5 || 0 || 15 || 137 || 9.1 || 32 || 1 || 21 || 222 || 10.6 || 36 || 1 | |||||||||||
| 1990 | SDG
| 12 || 1 || 124 || 589 || 4.8 || 40 || 4 || 8 || 40 || 5.0 || 11 || 0 | |||||||||||
| 1991 | SDG
| 13 || 8 || 159 || 766 || 4.8 || 63 || 8 || 11 || 124 || 11.3 || 25 || 0 | |||||||||||
| 1992 | SDG
| 9 || 1 || 106 || 499 || 4.7 || 25 || 4 || 12 || 86 || 7.2 || 16 || 0 | |||||||||||
| 1993 | DEN
| 15 || 14 || 223 || 816 || 3.7 || 24 || 4 || 44 || 372 || 8.5 || 41 || 0 | |||||||||||
| 1994 | DEN
| 3 || 3 || 17 || 91 || 5.4 || 24 || 0 || 9 || 70 || 7.8 || 16 || 0 | |||||||||||
| 1995 | DEN
| 3 || 3 || 23 || 76 || 3.3 || 18 || 1 || 5 || 54 || 10.8 || 38 || 0 | |||||||||||
| colspan="2"| | 84 | 45 | 670 | 2,990 | 4.5 | 63 | 22 | 149 | 1,384 | 9.3 | 59 | 2 |
=Playoffs=
Personal life
Bernstine and his ex-wife Stephanie met at Bryan High School in Bryan, Texas. They began dating while both were students and at Texas A&M University. They have two children. They all reside in the Denver, Colorado area.Burson (2004), pp. 95–97.
Bernstine's older brother Nehames "Pookie" Bernstine played baseball for Lewis-Clark College in Lewiston, Idaho. Pookie Bernstine was selected by the Cleveland Indians in the 5th Round (118th overall) of the 1982 amateur entry draft (June-Reg).{{Cite web|url=http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/B/Pookie-Bernstine.shtml|title=Major Leaguers - the Baseball Cube}}
Bernstine's son, Roderick E. Bernstine Jr., signed a letter of intent to play basketball for the University of Denver in November 2012, but transferred to the University of North Dakota after only one season.{{cite news|last=Chambers|first=Mike|title=Cherokee Trail basketball star Roderick Bernstine, son of former Bronco, finds footing on court Read more: Cherokee Trail basketball star Roderick Bernstine, son of former Bronco, finds footing on court|url=http://www.denverpost.com/preps/ci_22351784|newspaper=Denver Post|access-date=November 1, 2013}} His nephew, Jordan, was a safety who formerly played for the Washington Redskins.{{cite news|work=WashingtonPost.com|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/football-insider/wp/2013/04/11/jordan-bernstine-targeting-training-camp-return-date/|title=Jordan Bernstine targeting training camp return date|first=Mike|last=Jones|date=April 11, 2013|access-date=May 26, 2013}}
Notes
{{reflist}}
References
- {{Cite book|last=Burson|first=Rusty|title=Texas A&M, Where Have You Gone?
|publisher=Sports Publishing LLC|year=2004|
isbn=1-58261-753-8}}
{{1987 NFL Draft}}
{{ChargersFirstPick}}
{{San Diego Chargers 1987 draft navbox}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bernstine, Rod}}
Category:American football running backs
Category:American football tight ends
Category:Denver Broncos players
Category:San Diego Chargers players
Category:Texas A&M Aggies football players
Category:Players of American football from Fairfield, California