Genard Avery

BIOGRAPHY

Genard Avery was born on April 26, 1995, in Grenada, Mississippi. He is a linebacker in the NFL.

Avery attended Grenada High School and he was named the Clarion-Ledger 2013 All-State Team and was the Most Valuable Player of Mississippi 6A Region. He played in the Mississippi-Alabama All-Star Game and was a member of The Clarion-Ledger’s Targeted 22. He registered 111 tackles and six sacks and forced five fumbles as a junior to earn Class 6A All-State honors.

During Avery’s freshman year, Avery made 18 tackles (13-5), including six TFL and five sacks. He earned a first collegiate start at the DAWG position vs. Ole Miss. In the collegiate debut, Avery had three assisted tackles in the 63-0 shutout of Austin Peay. Overall, he had 81 tackles including 11 for loss and two interceptions returned for touchdowns. Avery followed that up with 80 tackles including 22 tackles for loss.

During his sophomore season in 2015, he posted career bests of total tackles (9), solo hits (9), TFL (3) and sacks (2). His first big game of the campaign was a six-tackle performance (5-1) in the win at Kansas. In his final appearance of 2015, he had three tackles (1-2) in a road loss at Temple.

In 2016, during his junior season, Avery started all 13 games. He led the team in TFL (11.0/59 yards) and sacks (5.0/31 yards) and tied for team-best honors with two interceptions. Avery was a member of a defense that ranked nationally in caused turnovers (5th; 29 total), fumble recoveries (6th; 13) and turnover margin (18th; +8). He played in 50 career games with 34 starts, including every game of his final two seasons.

The Cleveland Browns drafted Avery in the fifth round of the 2018 NFL Draft. On May 13, 2018, Avery signed a rookie contract with the Cleveland Browns.