Arian Foster Is The Gold Standard For Undrafted Free Agents

[CloakNNNdagger]

An interview of Foster on a San Diego radio station.

Arian Foster was overlooked while he was at the University of Tennessee. Then he was overlooked by all 32 teams in the NFL Draft. Then, even after he was signed by the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent, he was still fighting the numbers game and trying to climb his way to the top of the depth chart. After his breakout campaign in 2010, Arian Foster will never be overlooked again. Foster led the NFL in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns and even though it was just one season, he emerged as one of the best running backs in the league.

Up until this point Foster has proven a lot of people wrong. He has shown that he is one of the best running backs in the league, he has shown that he deserves to be the lead ball-carrier for the Texans, and he is finally getting the recognition he has always wanted. Now it is up to him to make sure he continues down that path and doesn’t go in reverse in 2011.

Arian Foster joined XX Sports Radio in San Diego with Darren Smith to talk about the NFL lockout, whether or not he sees a resolution coming soon, what things would’ve been like for him if he was an undrafted player in the middle of a lockout, if he feels like he can be a positive example for undrafted players, and what it means for him to be nominated for an ESPY.

On the lockout possibly coming to an end soon:

“It could go either way man so I try not to put too much energy into it. This is part of the business man. This is the business I chose to make my career so I just have to roll with the punches. Either way there is nothing that I can do so it’s out of my hands, I can’t control it so I’m just working out, staying in shape, and being ready just in case.”

How things would’ve been different if he went undrafted in the middle of a lockout:

“I’ve thought about that and I’ve kicked that around. There’s no telling where my life would be. As far as the undrafted guys now, it’s gonna be tough, real tough because you don’t know where your home is yet. You don’t know where your home could be yet. That’s the business that we chose. It’s a tough reality but at the end of the day it’s reality. Those guys are going to have a long journey to where they want to go. I think the thing that they have to keep in my mind is that it is a journey, it’s not a destination. It’s not the end of the road. Just keep working and stay focused. I’m a firm believer that hard work pays off. I don’t care what you do, it will pay off. It’s going to be tough because they don’t have the opportunity of OTA’s, minicamps or things like that to kinda showcase what they can do in front of the coaches. It’s gonna be tough but they just have to stay focused.”

Whether or not he feels like he can be an example for other undrafted players in the NFL:

“I think that’s kinda one of my goals as a human being is to inspire people. If my inspiration comes from the football field then so be it. In this instance it does. So when I guy looks at me and says I can do it because he did it then I’m all for it. They have to understand that it didn’t just happen. I don’t think anything just happens. If you’re successful it’s rarely, rarely luck. It’s rarely. It’s a lot of hard work, a lot of man power, and a lot of hours that you put into your craft. Once somebody gets that, understands that, and implements that into their own life then their life changes for the good. Going back to your point it feels good being able to inspire and I try to live my life to be a vessel for truth and for hard work because it does pay off.”

On being nominated for an ESPY:

“It means a lot for me to be nominated. It’s a certain amount of respect that people have gained for your game and that’s why I play this game. I play this game for the respect factor. I’m not necessarily into winning this award or any award that I’m nominated for because I’m kinda self-vindicated. I’ve talked to a guy like Ray Lewis and he has really been a big inspiration for me this past offseason. We have talked a lot and we have kept in touch. He told me that he loves the way I play the game. When a first-ballot Hall-Of-Famer tells me they love the way I play the game, that’s the biggest award I could’ve possibly gained. It means more to me than any ESPY. Honestly. I will be honored if I win but I won’t be crushed if I don’t.”

[drs23]

Another great read/find. Thanks Doc Jean.

MSR

[beerlover]

Foster is the present & future of the Texans ground game with Tate a similar talent to share work load.

[HJam72]

Well, they shoulda had Vontae Leach at Tennessee.

[Texecutioner]

The Texans finally have one complete stud at RB and hopefully Tate can be everything people have hoped for. The Texans could possibly have the best RB committee in the NFL next year.

[HJam72]

I thought we were movin' Foster to FS.

[rush2112mn]

Originally Posted by beerlover

Foster is the present & future of the Texans ground game with Tate a similar talent to share work load.

Rbs life is so short.....here today...1 injury away from gone....go ask Slaton.....

[thunderkyss]

What the heck is he doing in San Diego?

He should be in Port Arthur at the Steven Jackson school of Basketball working out.

[SteveSlaton20]

Originally Posted by thunderkyss

What the heck is he doing in San Diego?

He should be in Port Arthur at the Steven Jackson school of Basketball working out.

iirc he's from SD.

edit: his parents got divorced and he and his father moved to SD.

[AnthonyE]

I'm pretty sure it has to do with him being in the area for NFL Total Access tonight.

[TEXANRED]

Foster won the "Strongest performance award" at the ESPY's

[jaayteetx]

Originally Posted by TEXANRED

Foster won the "Strongest performance award" at the ESPY's

Did he thank the Colts?

[El Tejano]

Originally Posted by jaayteetx

Did he thank the Colts?

LOL! I guess he was a better man than you and I would be. He gave all the praise to his offensive lineman. Good idea.

[Allstar]

Pretty wild and insightful article about Arian. Can't fit it all, so you'll have to click to see the full article

Arian Foster: The Most Interesting Man in the NFL

Arian Foster is a commencement speech come to life, a walking, talking, living, breathing, rhyme-dropping, Shakespeare-quoting, yoga-practicing, linebacker-outrunning testament to the idea that hard work fueled by dedication can turn dreams into reality. He is the NFL’s philosopher king, a poet and deep thinker who led the league in rushing last season, his second, and seems to be on the cusp of stardom, both as a player and as an outsize personality out of whose mouth can come anything at anytime.

Such as now. He’s standing on a rock in the desert in his hometown of Albuquerque, yelling at the universe and entreating everybody with him to do the same. He demands that the universe hear from his sister, Christina, a Sporting News photographer, the photographer’s assistant and me. Foster, his fingers pointing to the endless desert, as wide and deep as the future that unfolds before him, instructs us to share our deepest desires. “Ask it for what you want,” he says.

He takes his turn. “I WANT TO BE ME! THE BEST ME I CAN POSSIBLY BE!”

He picks up momentum. “YOU FEEL ME? IT WON’T KILL ME!” His voice catches. He starts to crack up. “I DIDN’T MEAN THAT (EXPLETIVE) TO RHYME, BUT IT DID.”

The wind blows. The relentless heat of the day starts to give way. Sand shoots through the air, drying our eyes and lips and throats, tiny needles spiking our skin. Smoke dulls the sky in the distance to Foster’s right, evidence of the fires that have ravaged New Mexico. Miles in front of Foster rise the Sandia Mountains, turning pink like the watermelon for which they are named; behind him sets the sun, yellow rays filtering through dark clouds.

Still standing on the rock but now facing away from the desert, Foster diverts his attention from the universe and onto a lone man, hundreds of yards away. “HEY! YOU! WALKING! DID YOU TAKE WHAT YOU WANT OUT OF THIS LIFE? OR DID LIFE TAKE WHAT IT WANTED OUT OF YOU?”

The man offers no response. Neither does the universe. Foster eventually moves to another topic, which is that he recently played an old video game and was surprised at how poor the graphics looked considering how state of the art they seemed 10 years ago. “It makes me think,” he says in a British accent. “Ten years from now, what are we going to be doing?”

He means video game-wise, but it’s a question he has pondered about himself, too. He might still be playing football or he might have moved on to a music or writing career. The way this photo shoot is going, he might still be on the rock, shouting to the heavens while admiring the earth. Whatever the Foster of 10 years from now finds to occupy his time, he’ll do it full-tilt and off-center, spreading his message of love and unity and go-get-it-because-nobody’s-going-to-give-it-to-you to whomever will listen, up to and including the universe.

————————

Across the street from the University of New Mexico sits a diner called the Frontier. It has more tables than a Las Vegas casino and boasts a glorious menu of New Mexico cuisine: green chile hamburgers, green chile stew, green chile coffee, green chile oatmeal and green chile tequila. Just kidding. There aren’t that many tables.

It is here that Foster and I talk for 90 minutes about football and philosophy, faith and family and whether Papa Smurf was a communist. Foster’s interests are wide-ranging, and the last thing he wants is to be seen as just a football player. “He’s different things to different people,” says Simon Garcia, who has been friends with Foster since they were 7.

[drs23]

Good find Allstar. Enjoyed the read. Arian is a rare bird for sure.