Arian Foster
Encyclopedia
Arian Foster is an American football
running back
for the Houston Texans
. He was signed by the Texans as an undrafted free agent in 2009 and was added to their active roster from the practice squad on November 17, 2009. He played college football
at Tennessee
. Foster is known for his signature bow when he scores a touchdown.
, to Carl Foster, a former wide receiver for the University of New Mexico, and Bernadette Sizemore, an administrative assistant for the university. Foster competed in football at Valley High School
, where coaches told him that he was not good enough to play running back. His parents divorced in 2000, and in 2002 he moved to San Diego, California
, to be with his father. Foster competed in football at Mission Bay Senior High School
, where he initially played as a linebacker, but became a full-time running back in his senior year. He was Mission Bay's featured running back that year, and led San Diego County in all purpose yards with 2,500 while compiling 2,093 rushing yards and 24 touchdowns in addition to six scores on kickoff returns. In a game against Claremont Foster ran for 321 yards, and for his efforts he was named San Diego Union Tribune All-San Diego Western League Player of the Year, received All-West Region appointment by PrepStar and also earned All-California Interscholastic Federation honors. Then-Tennessee offensive coordinator Randy Sanders
and running backs coach Trooper Taylor
were impressed by Foster when recruiting in San Diego. Foster chose to attend Tennessee and was part of the 2004 signing class.
Note: Incomplete
Volunteer, sitting behind Gerald Riggs, Jr.
and Cedric Houston
on the depth chart. He was a three-year starter at the running back
position for Tennessee.
In his 2005 freshman season, Foster earned the starting job following an injury to Riggs. Foster rushed for 879 yards in his limited action, including a commanding 223-yard performance against Vanderbilt
. Foster scored two touchdowns in the game, and his total of 268 all-purpose yards was the third-highest total in school history.
His sophomore season of 2006
saw a slight downturn in production, as Foster was limited for the majority of the season with injuries and missed games against Marshall
and Memphis
. Splitting time with LaMarcus Coker
after returning from injury, Foster ended the season with just 322 rushing yards. Tennessee's final game of the season was the 2007 Outback Bowl
, in which Foster fumbled with ten minutes remaining deep in Penn State territory. The ball was picked up by cornerback Tony Davis and returned 88 yards for a touchdown, breaking a 10-10 tie and providing the winning points in Penn State's 20-10 victory.
On 4 November 2006, Foster and two reserve players were arrested following a fight in a night club and were charged with disorderly conduct and underage consumption.
His junior season of 2007
saw Foster take over as the main back, with Montario Hardesty
coming in as a substitute. Against Florida
, Foster fumbled a left-handed hand-off from injured quarterback Erik Ainge which was recovered by Gators linebacker Dustin Doe and returned eighteen yards for a touchdown. Up to that point Tennessee had been gaining momentum and pulled to within eight points of tying the game, but the botched play made the score 35-20 and triggered a 24-point Florida run to close out the contest. Foster surpassed the 1,000-yard mark with a 118-yard performance in a 52-50 win at Kentucky, and finished his junior season with 245 carries for 1,193 yards and 12 touchdowns, while also catching 39 passes for 340 yards and an additional two scores.
Foster's breakout junior season resulted in a second-round grade from the draft advisory board and led him to consider leaving school. However, head coach Phillip Fulmer
persuaded him to stay for his senior season, a decision Foster would later deeply regret. Playing under the third position coach and offensive coordinator of his tenure, Foster was utilized in a rotation following the installation of a new offensive scheme that the Tennessee coaches thought was a better fit for some of the other running backs on the roster. For his part, Fulmer would attribute Foster's diminished workload to knee and thigh injuries which would later be disputed. In the end, Foster compiled just 570 yards on 131 carries with only one touchdown in his senior season.
Foster's subpar senior campaign caused his draft stock to plummet, as well as scouts' concerns about his below-average pass-blocking, issues with ball security and the less-than-stellar reviews from Tennessee staff members that portrayed him as selfish and hard to coach. A pulled hamstring also prevented Foster from working out at the NFL Scouting Combine, then he had a poor showing at Tennessee's Pro Day when he registered a 4.71 40-yard dash, 4.50 short shuttle, 32-inch vertical leap and 9'7" broad jump. The combination of factors led to Foster being undrafted at the 2009 NFL Draft
; after several teams showed interest in him as a rookie free agent, he chose to sign a contract with the Houston Texans
in May of 2009 because he thought the situation suited him.
Foster finished his collegiate career as Tennessee's second all-time leading rusher with 2,964 yards, just 114 behind Travis Henry
. His legacy, however, was mixed. Despite fumbling just five times on a school-record 650 carries, virtually all of them happened in critical moments that either contributed to or outright cost Tennessee the chance to win several important games, including Penn State (twice) in 2006, Florida in 2007, and UCLA and Auburn in 2008. Now-former coach Fulmer has defended Foster, saying "There were a couple of fumbles that were untimely that people want to remember; they forget about his full career, about how special he was. He had a couple after a couple of big runs. They were costly, but we probably wouldn't have been there without him."
as an undrafted free agent on May 1, 2009. He was later released on September 5, 2009, but then was signed to the Texans' practice squad on September 6 and signed to the active roster on November 17. Foster made his NFL debut against the Tennessee Titans
on November 23, 2009 and played on special teams. He scored his first NFL career touchdown against the Miami Dolphins
in Miami on December 27, 2009 on a 17-yard run up the middle in the second quarter of the game. Foster then made his first career start against the New England Patriots
on January 3, 2010 and posted his first career 100-yard game, rushing for 119 yards and scoring twice on 20 carries.
Overall Foster played 6 games, starting in only 1, during the 2009 season finishing with 257 yards and 3 touchdowns.
, Foster replaced Steve Slaton
, the 2009 starting running back, and broke many franchise records, rushing 33 times for 231 yards and 3 touchdowns. In addition to breaking the record for the most rushing yards by a player of the Houston Texans
in a single game, he and Slaton combined for 260 rushing yards, well over the team record for most total in a game, and also the most rushing yards given up to a single player by the Indianapolis Colts. Foster also posted the second-highest NFL opening day rushing total, trailing only O.J. Simpson's 250 yards in 1973.
During week 4 on October 3 vs. the Oakland Raiders
after being benched for the 1st quarter, Foster recorded the longest run in Texans franchise history when he scored on a 74 yard touchdown run in the 3rd quarter to break a 14-14 tie. Houston went on to win 31-24 behind Foster's 187 yards from scrimmage. After being passed up in rushing yards by Jamaal Charles during the Chiefs last game of the regular season, Foster posted another stunning performance rushing for 180 yards and 2 TD to solidify his spot as the 2010 rushing leader. Foster finished the 2010 season by winning the rushing title with 1,616 Rushing yards and 604 receiving yards breaking the record set by Priest Holmes for most yards from scrimmage ever by an undrafted player. He was invited to the 2011 Pro Bowl
, which was his first Pro Bowl.
of an MRI image of the damaged tendon - resulting in his missing the Texans' opening day game versus the Colts.
Foster returned in Week 2 against the Miami Dolphins
, but after carrying the ball ten times for 33 rushing yards in the first half he missed the remainder of the game due to a re-aggravation of the hamstring.
Foster missed Houston's Week 3 game at New Orleans, but returned to face the Pittsburgh Steelers
the following Sunday. Against Pittsburgh Foster ran the ball 30 times for 155 yards, including a 42-yard fourth-quarter touchdown run that proved to be the winning points in the Texans' 17-10 victory. In what was his tenth career 100-yard game, Foster's total of 155 yards was the second-most by a running back against the Steelers defense since 2001 and the most since Curtis Martin
tallied 174 versus Pittsburgh in December of 2003. Additionally, his 42-yard touchdown was the longest scoring run allowed by the Steelers since 2006.
The Texans squared off with the Raiders in Houston in Week 5, just a day after legendary Raiders owner Al Davis
passed away. Foster had a tough time generating yards on the ground, tallying just 68 yards on 22 carries. It was as a pass-catcher that Foster shined against Oakland, catching five balls for 116 yards, including a career-long 60-yard reception in the third quarter. A last-minute rally by Houston fell short when quarterback Matt Schaub
was intercepted in the end zone as Houston fell, 25-20.
In Week 6, the Baltimore Raven's stout defense proved a challenge for Foster as he was limited to just 49 yards on 15 carries in a decisive 29-14 loss. Foster continued to contribute in the passing game, however, catching six passes for 52 yards in the losing effort.
Foster exploded in Week 7 against the Tennessee Titans, rushing for 115 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries while accumulating 119 yards receiving and another touchdown on five catches. This helped the Texans en route to a 41-7 victory over their division foe and established them as the division leader; Foster's 234 total yards fell just short of his personal best of 238, which he registered on Opening Day of the 2010 season versus Indianapolis.
Foster followed up his career-day against Tennessee with a solid performance against the Jacksonville Jaguars
. In a tough, ball-control type of game, Foster equaled his career-high in rushing attempts with 33, totaling 112 yards on the ground. In a nod to Foster's prolific pass-catching in recent weeks, the Jaguars limited Foster to just one catch for 12 yards out of the backfield in Houston's 24-14 victory.
's Sunday NFL Countdown
, Foster was a philosophy major at the University of Tennessee and is an avid writer of poetry. Foster's first name is an abbreviated form of Aquarian, which means "water bearer," or "holder of knowledge." Foster is of Mexican American
and African American
heritage.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
running back
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
for the Houston Texans
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The team is currently a member of the Southern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. He was signed by the Texans as an undrafted free agent in 2009 and was added to their active roster from the practice squad on November 17, 2009. He played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at Tennessee
Tennessee Volunteers football
The Tennessee Volunteers football team are an American college football team at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville . The NCAA Division I team is also a member of the Southeastern Conference ....
. Foster is known for his signature bow when he scores a touchdown.
Early years
Foster was born on 24 August 1986 in Albuquerque, New MexicoAlbuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of the 2010 Census and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. As...
, to Carl Foster, a former wide receiver for the University of New Mexico, and Bernadette Sizemore, an administrative assistant for the university. Foster competed in football at Valley High School
Valley High School (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Valley High School is a public high school in the North Valley area of Albuquerque, New Mexico. It is part of the Albuquerque Public Schools district...
, where coaches told him that he was not good enough to play running back. His parents divorced in 2000, and in 2002 he moved to San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
, to be with his father. Foster competed in football at Mission Bay Senior High School
Mission Bay Senior High School
Mission Bay High School is a public school located in the San Diego, California community of Pacific Beach . It is a magnet school with emphasis on Academic Studies. The school recently introduced a new member of the staff, Principal Fred Hilgers in Fall 2009....
, where he initially played as a linebacker, but became a full-time running back in his senior year. He was Mission Bay's featured running back that year, and led San Diego County in all purpose yards with 2,500 while compiling 2,093 rushing yards and 24 touchdowns in addition to six scores on kickoff returns. In a game against Claremont Foster ran for 321 yards, and for his efforts he was named San Diego Union Tribune All-San Diego Western League Player of the Year, received All-West Region appointment by PrepStar and also earned All-California Interscholastic Federation honors. Then-Tennessee offensive coordinator Randy Sanders
Randy Sanders
Randy Sanders is the American football offensive coordinator and assistant coach of quarterbacks for the University of Kentucky Wildcats...
and running backs coach Trooper Taylor
Trooper Taylor
Trooper Taylor is an American college football assistant coach at Auburn University, serving as assistant head coach and wide receivers coach under head coach Gene Chizik. Prior to joining Auburn, Taylor served as co-offensive coordinator for Oklahoma State...
were impressed by Foster when recruiting in San Diego. Foster chose to attend Tennessee and was part of the 2004 signing class.
High School statistics
Source: http://rivals.yahoo.com/tennessee/football/recruiting/player-Arian-Foster-24057Note: Incomplete
| Rushing | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | GP | Att | Yds | Avg | Yds/G | TD | |
| 2003 | MBHS | 9 | 174 | 1,596 | 9.2 | 177.3 | 17 | |
College career
Foster red-shirted his first season as a University of TennesseeUniversity of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...
Volunteer, sitting behind Gerald Riggs, Jr.
Gerald Riggs, Jr.
Gerald Antonio Riggs, Jr. is a football running back for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. He played college football at Tennessee.He is the son of former Pro Bowl running back Gerald Riggs....
and Cedric Houston
Cedric Houston
Cedric Leonard Houston is a former American football running back of the National Football League. He was drafted by the New York Jets in the sixth round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He played college football at Tennessee.-Early years:...
on the depth chart. He was a three-year starter at the running back
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
position for Tennessee.
In his 2005 freshman season, Foster earned the starting job following an injury to Riggs. Foster rushed for 879 yards in his limited action, including a commanding 223-yard performance against Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
. Foster scored two touchdowns in the game, and his total of 268 all-purpose yards was the third-highest total in school history.
His sophomore season of 2006
2006 Tennessee Volunteers football team
The 2006 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee in the college football season of 2006–2007. Tennessee entered the 2006 season coming off an 5–6 record in 2005...
saw a slight downturn in production, as Foster was limited for the majority of the season with injuries and missed games against Marshall
Marshall University
Marshall University is a coeducational public research university in Huntington, West Virginia, United States founded in 1837, and named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States....
and Memphis
University of Memphis
The University of Memphis is an American public research university located in the Normal Station neighborhood of Memphis, Tennessee and is the flagship public research university of the Tennessee Board of Regents system....
. Splitting time with LaMarcus Coker
LaMarcus Coker
LaMarcus Darnell Coker is a former college football player for the University of Tennessee and Hampton University who currently plays as a running back for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League.-College:...
after returning from injury, Foster ended the season with just 322 rushing yards. Tennessee's final game of the season was the 2007 Outback Bowl
2007 Outback Bowl
The 2007 Outback Bowl Game was a college football bowl game sponsored by Outback Steakhouse. It was part of the 2006–2007 bowl game season that concluded the 2006 NCAA Division I-BS football season. The Outback Bowl has been played annually since 1986...
, in which Foster fumbled with ten minutes remaining deep in Penn State territory. The ball was picked up by cornerback Tony Davis and returned 88 yards for a touchdown, breaking a 10-10 tie and providing the winning points in Penn State's 20-10 victory.
On 4 November 2006, Foster and two reserve players were arrested following a fight in a night club and were charged with disorderly conduct and underage consumption.
2007 Tennessee Volunteers football team
The 2007 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee in the college football season of 2007–2008. They won the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference before falling to the eventual national champion LSU Tigers in the SEC Championship Game...
saw Foster take over as the main back, with Montario Hardesty
Montario Hardesty
-External links:* *...
coming in as a substitute. Against Florida
Florida Gators football
The Florida Gators football team represents the University of Florida in the sport of American football. The Florida Gators compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletics Association and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference...
, Foster fumbled a left-handed hand-off from injured quarterback Erik Ainge which was recovered by Gators linebacker Dustin Doe and returned eighteen yards for a touchdown. Up to that point Tennessee had been gaining momentum and pulled to within eight points of tying the game, but the botched play made the score 35-20 and triggered a 24-point Florida run to close out the contest. Foster surpassed the 1,000-yard mark with a 118-yard performance in a 52-50 win at Kentucky, and finished his junior season with 245 carries for 1,193 yards and 12 touchdowns, while also catching 39 passes for 340 yards and an additional two scores.
Foster's breakout junior season resulted in a second-round grade from the draft advisory board and led him to consider leaving school. However, head coach Phillip Fulmer
Phillip Fulmer
Phillip Fulmer is a TV college football analyst and the former head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers football team, who compiled a 152–52 record from 1992–2008 as head coach, but was fired during a 5–7 season in 2008...
persuaded him to stay for his senior season, a decision Foster would later deeply regret. Playing under the third position coach and offensive coordinator of his tenure, Foster was utilized in a rotation following the installation of a new offensive scheme that the Tennessee coaches thought was a better fit for some of the other running backs on the roster. For his part, Fulmer would attribute Foster's diminished workload to knee and thigh injuries which would later be disputed. In the end, Foster compiled just 570 yards on 131 carries with only one touchdown in his senior season.
Foster's subpar senior campaign caused his draft stock to plummet, as well as scouts' concerns about his below-average pass-blocking, issues with ball security and the less-than-stellar reviews from Tennessee staff members that portrayed him as selfish and hard to coach. A pulled hamstring also prevented Foster from working out at the NFL Scouting Combine, then he had a poor showing at Tennessee's Pro Day when he registered a 4.71 40-yard dash, 4.50 short shuttle, 32-inch vertical leap and 9'7" broad jump. The combination of factors led to Foster being undrafted at the 2009 NFL Draft
2009 NFL Draft
The 2009 NFL Draft was the seventy-fourth annual meeting of National Football League franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on April 25 and 26, 2009. The draft consisted of two rounds on the first day starting at 4:00...
; after several teams showed interest in him as a rookie free agent, he chose to sign a contract with the Houston Texans
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The team is currently a member of the Southern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
in May of 2009 because he thought the situation suited him.
Foster finished his collegiate career as Tennessee's second all-time leading rusher with 2,964 yards, just 114 behind Travis Henry
Travis Henry
Travis Deion Henry is a former American football running back for the Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans and Denver Broncos. He was drafted by the Bills in the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft...
. His legacy, however, was mixed. Despite fumbling just five times on a school-record 650 carries, virtually all of them happened in critical moments that either contributed to or outright cost Tennessee the chance to win several important games, including Penn State (twice) in 2006, Florida in 2007, and UCLA and Auburn in 2008. Now-former coach Fulmer has defended Foster, saying "There were a couple of fumbles that were untimely that people want to remember; they forget about his full career, about how special he was. He had a couple after a couple of big runs. They were costly, but we probably wouldn't have been there without him."
College statistics
Source: http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/arian-foster-1.html| Rushing | Receiving | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | GP | Att | Yds | Avg | Yds/G | Long | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Long | TD |
| 2005 | TEN | 11 | 183 | 879 | 4.8 | 79.9 | 66 | 5 | 14 | 148 | 10.6 | 39 | 0 |
| 2006 | TEN | 11 | 91 | 322 | 3.5 | 29.3 | 24 | 5 | 11 | 88 | 8.0 | 15 | 0 |
| 2007 | TEN | 14 | 245 | 1,193 | 4.9 | 85.2 | 59 | 12 | 39 | 340 | 8.7 | 65 | 2 |
| 2008 | TEN | 12 | 131 | 566 | 4.4 | 47.5 | 41 | 1 | 19 | 166 | 8.7 | 26 | 0 |
| Total | 48 | 650 | 2,964 | 4.6 | 61.8 | 66 | 23 | 83 | 742 | 8.9 | 65 | 2 | |
2009
Foster was signed by the Houston TexansHouston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The team is currently a member of the Southern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
as an undrafted free agent on May 1, 2009. He was later released on September 5, 2009, but then was signed to the Texans' practice squad on September 6 and signed to the active roster on November 17. Foster made his NFL debut against the Tennessee Titans
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter...
on November 23, 2009 and played on special teams. He scored his first NFL career touchdown against the Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
in Miami on December 27, 2009 on a 17-yard run up the middle in the second quarter of the game. Foster then made his first career start against the New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
on January 3, 2010 and posted his first career 100-yard game, rushing for 119 yards and scoring twice on 20 carries.
Overall Foster played 6 games, starting in only 1, during the 2009 season finishing with 257 yards and 3 touchdowns.
2010
On opening day of 2010, September 12, in Houston against the Indianapolis ColtsIndianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
, Foster replaced Steve Slaton
Steve Slaton
Steve Slaton is an American football running back for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Houston Texans in the third round of the 2008 NFL Draft...
, the 2009 starting running back, and broke many franchise records, rushing 33 times for 231 yards and 3 touchdowns. In addition to breaking the record for the most rushing yards by a player of the Houston Texans
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The team is currently a member of the Southern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
in a single game, he and Slaton combined for 260 rushing yards, well over the team record for most total in a game, and also the most rushing yards given up to a single player by the Indianapolis Colts. Foster also posted the second-highest NFL opening day rushing total, trailing only O.J. Simpson's 250 yards in 1973.
During week 4 on October 3 vs. the Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
after being benched for the 1st quarter, Foster recorded the longest run in Texans franchise history when he scored on a 74 yard touchdown run in the 3rd quarter to break a 14-14 tie. Houston went on to win 31-24 behind Foster's 187 yards from scrimmage. After being passed up in rushing yards by Jamaal Charles during the Chiefs last game of the regular season, Foster posted another stunning performance rushing for 180 yards and 2 TD to solidify his spot as the 2010 rushing leader. Foster finished the 2010 season by winning the rushing title with 1,616 Rushing yards and 604 receiving yards breaking the record set by Priest Holmes for most yards from scrimmage ever by an undrafted player. He was invited to the 2011 Pro Bowl
2011 Pro Bowl
The 2011 AFC–NFC Pro Bowl was the NFL's all-star game for the 2010 season. It took place at 7:00 p.m. EST on Sunday, January 30, 2011 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii...
, which was his first Pro Bowl.
2011
Foster strained his hamstring twice during the 2011 preseason - at one point creating controversy due to his tweetingTwitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
of an MRI image of the damaged tendon - resulting in his missing the Texans' opening day game versus the Colts.
Foster returned in Week 2 against the Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, but after carrying the ball ten times for 33 rushing yards in the first half he missed the remainder of the game due to a re-aggravation of the hamstring.
Foster missed Houston's Week 3 game at New Orleans, but returned to face the Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
the following Sunday. Against Pittsburgh Foster ran the ball 30 times for 155 yards, including a 42-yard fourth-quarter touchdown run that proved to be the winning points in the Texans' 17-10 victory. In what was his tenth career 100-yard game, Foster's total of 155 yards was the second-most by a running back against the Steelers defense since 2001 and the most since Curtis Martin
Curtis Martin
Curtis James Martin, Jr. is a former American football running back. He is an alumnus of Taylor Allderdice High School in Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh...
tallied 174 versus Pittsburgh in December of 2003. Additionally, his 42-yard touchdown was the longest scoring run allowed by the Steelers since 2006.
The Texans squared off with the Raiders in Houston in Week 5, just a day after legendary Raiders owner Al Davis
Al Davis
Allen "Al" Davis was an American football executive. He was the principal owner of the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League from 1970 to 2011...
passed away. Foster had a tough time generating yards on the ground, tallying just 68 yards on 22 carries. It was as a pass-catcher that Foster shined against Oakland, catching five balls for 116 yards, including a career-long 60-yard reception in the third quarter. A last-minute rally by Houston fell short when quarterback Matt Schaub
Matt Schaub
Matthew Rutledge Schaub is the starting quarterback for the Houston Texans. He was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the third round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He played college football at Virginia.-College career:...
was intercepted in the end zone as Houston fell, 25-20.
In Week 6, the Baltimore Raven's stout defense proved a challenge for Foster as he was limited to just 49 yards on 15 carries in a decisive 29-14 loss. Foster continued to contribute in the passing game, however, catching six passes for 52 yards in the losing effort.
Foster exploded in Week 7 against the Tennessee Titans, rushing for 115 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries while accumulating 119 yards receiving and another touchdown on five catches. This helped the Texans en route to a 41-7 victory over their division foe and established them as the division leader; Foster's 234 total yards fell just short of his personal best of 238, which he registered on Opening Day of the 2010 season versus Indianapolis.
Foster followed up his career-day against Tennessee with a solid performance against the Jacksonville Jaguars
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. In a tough, ball-control type of game, Foster equaled his career-high in rushing attempts with 33, totaling 112 yards on the ground. In a nod to Foster's prolific pass-catching in recent weeks, the Jaguars limited Foster to just one catch for 12 yards out of the backfield in Houston's 24-14 victory.
NFL statistics
Source: http://www.nfl.com/player/arianfoster/79555/profile| Rushing | Receiving | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | GP | Att | Yds | Avg | Yds/G | Long | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Long | TD |
| 2009 | HOU | 8 | 257 | 4.8 | 42.8 | 24 | 3 | 8 | 93 | 11.6 | 20 | 0 | |
| 2010 | HOU | 16 | 327 | 1,616 | 4.9 | 101.0 | 74 | 16 | 66 | 604 | 9.2 | 50 | 2 |
| 2011 | HOU | 8 | 171 | 740 | 4.3 | 92.5 | 42 | 6 | 31 | 445 | 14.4 | 78 | 2 |
| Total | 30 | 552 | 2,613 | 4.7 | 87.1 | 74 | 25 | 105 | 1,142 | 10.9 | 78 | 4 | |
Personal life
As was documented on ESPNESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
's Sunday NFL Countdown
Sunday NFL Countdown
NFL GameDay redirects here. For the video games series, see NFL GameDay Sunday NFL Countdown is a pregame show of all the NFL action for that week. The official name is Sunday NFL Countdown presented by IBM. The show airs on ESPN, ESPN HD, TSN and TSN HD from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Eastern time every...
, Foster was a philosophy major at the University of Tennessee and is an avid writer of poetry. Foster's first name is an abbreviated form of Aquarian, which means "water bearer," or "holder of knowledge." Foster is of Mexican American
Mexican American
Mexican Americans are Americans of Mexican descent. As of July 2009, Mexican Americans make up 10.3% of the United States' population with over 31,689,000 Americans listed as of Mexican ancestry. Mexican Americans comprise 66% of all Hispanics and Latinos in the United States...
and African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
heritage.