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Foster
Event Details
- What: Tennessee at Kentucky
- When: Saturday, Nov. 24, 2007, 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
- Where: Commonwealth Stadium
- Cost: Not available
- Age limit: All ages
Dave Hooker audio
Tennessee Stat Book
Kentucky Stats
Tennessee tailback Arian Foster is not the kind of guy who'll be lost in his headphones or slamming his head against a locker in the minutes before a game.
In fact, his pregame routine is about the polar opposite of the football stereotype.
"I like to smile and have fun and joke," Foster says. "A lot of people don't. A lot of people like to be straight-on, dead serious. Sometimes you'll find me like that, but most games I'm relaxed.
"I'll crack some jokes. Some people don't like that or take it as unfocused, but it's just my personality."
Tight end Chris Brown, who has the locker next to Foster's, knows exactly what Foster's personality is like.
"He's very relaxed on the football field, and I think that's what makes him play so well," Brown says. "He and I always talk about how much fun we have playing together. When he goes out there and he makes plays, it builds his confidence."
And it makes that almost ever-present grin on his face a little wider.
This year, Foster has plenty to smile about.
The junior needs 11 yards Saturday against Kentucky (TV: WVLT, 1:30 p.m.) to reach 1,000 yards for the season.
It's a long time coming for the San Diego native.
While the Vols bounced back in 2006, Foster took a step in the other direction.
As a freshman in 2005, Foster rushed for 879 yards, including five consecutive games over 100 yards after starter Gerald Riggs suffered a season-ending injury.
But last season, he missed two full games with an ankle injury and carried just twice in a loss to Florida.
As LaMarcus Coker emerged as UT's leading rusher, Foster fell to the background.
A fumble in the Outback Bowl that went the other way for Penn State's deciding touchdown was the low point.
"Last year, he thought after he fumbled the ball against Penn State, that things weren't going to go his way this year," says Brown.
Early on, it didn't look like it would.
After rushing for 214 yards in UT's first two games, he hit another low against Florida.
Foster finished with 26 yards rushing in that game - and another costly fumble that went for a Gators touchdown.
But since then, he's scored in every game except Vanderbilt and leads the Vols with 13 touchdowns.
He's averaging 5.5 yards per carry, exactly 2 yards a carry more than last season.
He's topped 90 yards rushing in five of the last seven games - and that's not even half the story.
"He's given us a lot of little extra yards along the way this year," offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe says. "He's a tremendous pass protector. He's a big part of why we've been successful protecting the quarterback. And he's also a tremendous receiver."
Quarterback Erik Ainge, who praised Foster's ability as a pass protector. He also likes Foster as a receiver, too.
"Sometimes I'll throw him the ball in the flat, even if it's man-to-man and I shouldn't be throwing it him, sometimes I'll throw it him anyway because I know that first guy isn't going to tackle him," Ainge said. "Having that trust and knowing he's going to get it done and knowing he's going to make plays for four quarters long is a great feeling as a quarterback."
Foster feels good about getting back in the groove this year.
But those 1,000 yards he'll almost surely get - and any to follow - don't measure up to the goals he set for himself last season.
"I think as an athlete you can never be content," Foster says, "But I've had some success, and it feels pretty good.
"I didn't reach my personal goals that I had. You have to set them high or you're not even going to get close. There's always next year."
Drew Edwards covers University of Tennessee football. He may be reached at 865-342-6274.
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Comments » 21
andy112382#209793 writes:
I'm happy to have Foster wearing the orange and white. Last year was fluky with the ankle injury, he has been a solid RB. Run all over Kentucky! GO VOLS!!!
pdhuff#552644 writes:
Foster, just don't get too relaxed to fumble the pig (again) against the Cats! That drop late against SC caused tremors all over Big Orange Country! Man! Get your 123 Saturday! Go Vols!
cgbtn writes:
I am a huge Arian Foster fan, and a 5.5 ypc average is great. However, I don't understand why sportswriters and sportscasters want to worship a 1,000 yd season. A thousand yds became the standard of excellence when colleges played 9-game seasons and before the NFL moved the hash marks to the center of the field. Today, 1,500 yds would be a fair equivalent. As Gale Sayers said about the NFL, "When I rushed for 1,000 yds, 14 people had done it in the history of the League. Now, that many do it every season."
Arian is a great back. If he maintains his average, only the number of carries he gets will determine whether or not he gets 1,000 yds. Either way, it is irrelevent.
DSaVol writes:
Just hold onto the damned ball for a change!
philfan writes:
Since this article seems to be about having a sense of humor , I thought it would be fun if we described our pregame rituals. About a half hour before the game, I mix a Jack Daniels with some tea and lemon, put on a Tennessee shirt, and have my Smoky doll near me. At half time, I mix another Jack Daniels, in exactly the same way, and watch the second half. The ritual is the same regardless if the game is on TV. If we lose, I am not in too much of a state to be too depressed. My data indicates that, when I follow this rigid ritual, we win about 4 of every 5 games. Do other people on this forum have pregame rituals that must be followed, lest anxiety set in?
ssukonic#254241 writes:
Hey.....TouchdownTN--and your sock might get a hole in it if you wear it long enough. Get a life........the glass might be half full too!! You EXPECT our secondary to get torched?? Yea, well maybe......but I expect our guys to fight their guts out too......and that will get it done.
Go Vols......
gohawks1 writes:
cgbtn - good points. The "thousand yards per season" has become the expected norm rather than the standard of excellence for good running backs today, and I had not thought about the fact that regular seasons now have 3 more games than the early days.
It probably remains the benchmark for two reasons:
1. It is one of those records that has been kept forever, and to change your "unit of measurement" now would make it difficult to compare and contrast players' achievements over the years; and
2. It is a nice round number :)
hooverd283#563729 writes:
Chavis is at his best when he needs to pressure the QB. The defense will rise to the challenge this Saturday. Ainge will take the spotlight from Woodson. ALL SAID...VOLS 35 KY JELLY 20..
utalum04 writes:
Yet another postive post for TouchdownTN...seriously, man, get on some antidepressants!
anon_42 writes:
Philfan: Excellent ritual, but seems a little "thin." 1) why water down the perfect drink with tea and lemon? 2) Drinking Jack that slow is like eating one potato chip - can't be done.
BigManVolFan writes:
Foster has been the darkhorse this year....You dont see his name popping up in columns this year like Ainge's, or the how the young receivers have emegred, or Daniel Lincoln...Foste has quitely ran for almost 1,000 yards without anyone mentioning it....Without Foster, were would this offense be?
I see Foster getting 1,100+ yards this year, but Foster stop running sideline to sideline, get up field and get what you can get on those tough runs!
AlpharettaVol writes:
philfan: Down here in Georgia I don't get up to KNoxville but once or twice a year to see the Vols. But I have an old Smoky stuffed animal on my coffee table that plays Rocky Top when you pinch its ear. My family did that every time we scored a touchdown for years. Finally a couple of years ago my wife pinched the ear and nothing happened. The battery had finally gone dead. She ran out of the room and came back in a couple of minutes with a ballpoint pen she found in a drawer that has the T on it and a button that you can push and the pen plays Rocky Top. That pen is now a regular fixture on our coffee table and it has become the ritual Rocky Top source each time we score a TD.
Happy Thanksgiving to Vol fans everywhere.
mikes70gto writes:
Could be what this team needs to be..Relaxed !! Play it like its just a game but with UT having more fun. I have a gut feeling this will end up being the same ole Ky by the time the final gun sounds,why,because we win by having fun and being relaxed.So let the last laugh be on them !!
UT 38 Ky 24
philfan writes:
Touchdown Tn:
Did you know that 1 of every 3 people in the USA are overweight? Since that is a fact, did it ever occur to you that about 1 in 3 men on this board could be chubby, fat, or Flubby. If you want to have any credibility on this board, you need to act like an adult. Wait a minute. Are you a teenage boy?
writer#358485 writes:
If the right defense shows up, we'll be fine. Ball control (like against Georgia and Arkansas)--which shouldn't be too tough against Kentucky's defense--should keep the score down. Turn the running backs loose, just pass enough to keep them honest, and hope the defense that played Georgia and Arkansas shows up, not the high-school version we took to California, Florida and Alabama. The defense has gotten better, but it still needs to bring its "A" game. This game is very winnable, but we'll have to play hard all four quarters, especially on defense. Maybe consider starting Rogan at Safety, he knows how to get to the ball? It's still true that defense wins championships. It hasn't changed since Gen. Neyland marched the sideline. We've got a championship on the line in this one. Kentucky is no slouch like in past years but we can win if we bring the right defense. Go Vols!
gohawks1 writes:
TDTN, it was Noah who rode out the storm on the boat, not Moses. I know, because my ancestors were on that boat - they were black-and-tan coon hounds.
GO SMOKEY! Chase those pussycats up a tree.
pdhuff#552644 writes:
We're trying to continue the longest winning streak in the nation, but if Cats win, per ESPN ,yes , they'll still own the record via tilts vs Fla! Now, that's overacheving any way you cut it! Our own modest streak includes no SEC Champ banners since, hmm!! Ooops, here comes the Fulermite stat nation! I bet we've outscored 68.9% of our opponents in the final 2:38 of the third quarter in 54.89% of the time! And that's in the day games! Oh, they'll correct that one! It is so hard to admit we're going down-hill in being competive every game. Now, I'll be first to say well done, when we bring the SEC champs trophy back to Knoxville other than women's basketball. Phil knows how to make a somber Thanksgiving dinner with that coaching till he's 97 statement (well same thing, another NC, boy howdy!). Looking forward to seeing the Orange hoard devour the Cats tomorrow! We'll have new stats! maybe not a win, but new stats! Go Vols!
thesavageorange writes:
For those of you who go back , and forth about CPF , I found an interesting coaching ranking at: http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/... I was very surprised to see who all they had ranked better.Especially in the SEC.
writer#358485 writes:
Just for argument's sake, lets say the Vols beat Kentucky (very doable, though a challenge in Lexington), and then go on to upset LSU (pretty unlikely, but not out of the realm of possibility) where does that leave the Vol nation? Well, it leaves us with an SEC championship in football, almost certainly one in Women's Basketball (probably a national one), and a very likely SEC one in Men's Basketball (possibly even more)--three championships in one year. If all that happens, I'll take UT's coaching lineup against any in the SEC!
thesavageorange writes:
writer:If that happens, I am in total agreement.By the way I am not a CPF basher.I just found it interesting what someone outside of vol nation thought.
writer#358485 writes:
Let's see who is laughing at the end of the season. Arkansas, who we beat soundly, just upset LSU in Baton Rouge. Georgia, who we beat soundly, is hoping Kentucky can handle us to sneak into the Championship game. It's been that kind of year. It's who plays best on a given Saturday. Fulmer has put us into a position everyone else in the East envies right now. And with the Hogs having upset LSU's apple cart, I wouldn't surprised if they come out very flat whether it is us or Georgia in Atlanta. The Vols are a young team that has gotten very much better since early in the season--good coaching. Sounds like you need to change jobs TDTN.
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