by Mike Magers

Arian Foster grew up in Albuquerque and attended Valley High School until he moved with his father to California and graduated from San Diego’s Mission Bay High School.  He was the son of Carl Foster who was a wide receiver at University of New Mexico and Bernadette Sizemore who worked for the university.  Foster was a standout at San Diego Mission Bay, rushing for just under 1,600 yards his senior year.

Arian then attended University of Tennessee in the SEC, where he played in 47 games at running back.  In 650 carries, he rushed for 2,964 yards.  Averaging 4.6 yards per carry, he scored 23 touchdowns.  He also had 83 receptions for another 742 yards, for an average of 8.9 yards per play.  His best year was his junior season when he rushed for 1,193 yards in 245 carries.  [Statistics: www.sports-reference.com.]

Foster was an undrafted free agent in 2009, signing with the Houston Texans where he would spend seven seasons.  He then signed a one year contract with the Miami Dolphins for the 2015 season.

His NFL stats are as follows, as of this writing:  in 76 games, he gained 6,472 yards in 1,454 attempts and another 2,268 receiving yards in 249 receptions.  Foster is still listed as a running back on the Dolphins before training camp opens, but his contract status is unknown.

His NFL honors to date include being named to the Pro Bowl four times, a first team All-Pro in 2010 and second team All-Pro in 2011.  He was the NFL rushing touchdown leader for two seasons and led the NLF in rushing yards in 2010.