D. J. Foster
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Darryll James "D. J." Foster (born November 22, 1993) is a former
gridiron football Gridiron football ( ),"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica'' ...
running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...
who is the manager of player development at
Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...
, where he played
college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...
. He signed with the
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...
as an undrafted free agent in 2016. He was a member of the
Super Bowl LI Super Bowl LI was an American football game played at NRG Stadium in Houston, Houston, Texas, on February 5, 2017, to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2016 NFL season, 2016 season. The American Football Confe ...
winning Patriots, though was inactive for the game itself.


High school career

Foster attended
Saguaro High School Saguaro High School is a former Arizona A+ and Blue Ribbon Schools Program certified high school in the Scottsdale Unified School District in Scottsdale, Arizona, United States. Saguaro was opened in 1966. Sports Saguaro's varsity footba ...
in
Scottsdale, Arizona Scottsdale is a city in eastern Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and is part of the Phoenix metropolitan area. Named Scottsdale in 1894 after its founder Winfield Scott (chaplain), Winfield Scott, a retired Chaplain Corps (United States ...
, where he rushed for more than 5,000 yards in his career. As a senior, he set an Arizona state single-season record with 60 total touchdowns, and also set state marks for rushing yards in a game (508), touchdowns in a game (10), touchdowns in a career, points in a career and points in a season. He helped lead his team to the Arizona Division III State Championship to cap off his high school career. He was chosen by the ''
Arizona Republic ''The Arizona Republic'' is an American daily newspaper published in Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain. History Early years The newspap ...
'' as the Big Schools Player of the Year in 2011, and also was named the 2011 Tribune Football Player of the Year by the ''
East Valley Tribune The ''East Valley Tribune'' is a newspaper concentrated on cities within the East Valley region of metropolitan Phoenix, including Mesa, Tempe, Chandler, Gilbert, and Queen Creek. Formerly a daily newspaper, the ''Tribune'' resulted fro ...
''. Considered a four-star recruit by '' Rivals.com'', he was rated as the 5th best athlete prospect of his class, and drew comparisons to
Greg Jennings Gregory Jennings Jr. (born September 21, 1983) is an American sports television personality and former professional American football, football player who was a wide receiver for 10 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with ...
. On January 27, 2012, he announced his commitment to
Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is one of the largest ...
over numerous Power 5 offers.


College career


2012 season

He played in all 13 games, making one start. He scored his first career touchdown against
Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...
. He finished second on the team in all-purpose yardage with 1,026 yards (493 rushing and 533 receiving), and recorded six total touchdowns (two rushing, four receiving).


2013 season

He entered the season ready for an increased role with the team. He led the nation in receiving yards by a running back and was second overall on the team (653). He finished second on the team in all-purpose yardage (1,170 yards) and ranked second on the team in receptions (63). He totaled 10 total touchdowns for the season (six rushing, four receiving). He had ASU’s only touchdowns (one rush, one receiving) against
Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...
in the Pac-12 Championship.


2014 season

Following the departure of Marion Grice, Foster took over as the main back and offensive weapon for the Sun Devils. On the season, he had 194 carries for 1,081 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns to go along with 62 receptions for 688 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns.


2015 season

On December 30, 2014, Foster announced he would return to Arizona State for his senior season as a
wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...
. Overall, on the 2015 season, he had 59 receptions for 584 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns to go along with 55 carries for 280 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown.


Statistics


Professional career

Coming out of Arizona State, Foster was projected by many analysts to be either a fifth round selection or priority free-agent. He was ranked the 23rd best running back out of the 204 available by NFLDraftScout.com. Foster went undrafted in the
2016 NFL draft The 2016 NFL draft was the 81st annual draft of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...
, and was signed by the Patriots as a rookie free agent.


New England Patriots

On September 3, 2016, Foster was announced to have made the Patriots final 53-man roster and he made his professional debut on September 18, 2016, in the Patriots 31–24 win over the
Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...
in Week 2. He was released by the Patriots on November 28, 2016, and was re-signed to the practice squad. He was promoted back to the active roster on December 3, 2016. On February 5, 2017, Foster's Patriots appeared in
Super Bowl LI Super Bowl LI was an American football game played at NRG Stadium in Houston, Houston, Texas, on February 5, 2017, to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2016 NFL season, 2016 season. The American Football Confe ...
. He was inactive for the game. In the game, the Patriots trailed 28–3 in the third quarter, but rallied all the way back to win the game by a score of 34–28 against the
Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...
, in a game that featured the first overtime Super Bowl and largest comeback in Super Bowl history. Foster was released by the Patriots on September 2, 2017, and signed to the practice squad the next day.


Arizona Cardinals

On September 12, 2017, Foster was signed by the
Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...
off the Patriots' practice squad. In the 2017 season, he appeared in seven games and had 17 receptions for 133 receiving yards. On August 27, 2018, Foster suffered a torn MCL and ACL in the Cardinals' third preseason game and was ruled out for the season. On October 28, 2019, Foster was placed on injured reserve with a hamstring injury. On March 27, 2020, Foster re-signed with the Cardinals. Foster was released during final roster cuts on September 5, 2020, and re-signed to the practice squad a day later. He was elevated to the active roster on September 12 and 19 for the team's weeks 1 and 2 games against the
San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...
and
Washington Football Team The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
, and reverted to the practice squad after each game. Foster suffered a
quadriceps The quadriceps femoris muscle (, also called the quadriceps extensor, quadriceps or quads) is a large muscle group that includes the four prevailing muscles on the front of the thigh. It is the sole extensor muscle of the knee, forming a large ...
injury in the Washington game, and he was placed on the practice squad/injured list on September 21. He was activated back to the practice squad on October 20. He was elevated to the active roster again on November 7, November 14, November 19, November 28, and December 5 for the team's weeks 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 games against the
Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...
,
Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...
,
Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...
,
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...
, and
Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...
, and reverted to the practice squad after each game. Foster was promoted to the active roster on December 19.


Toronto Argonauts

On July 19, 2021, Foster signed with the
Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...
of the
Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...
. He played in 10 regular season games where he had 82 carries for 332 yards and two rushing touchdowns and also had 33 receptions for 316 yards and two receiving touchdowns. He also played in the East Final where he had 11 carries for 38 yards and three catches for 57 yards in the loss to the
Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home game ...
. He was released by the Argonauts on May 6, 2022, after the signing of Andrew Harris.


References


External links


Arizona State Sun Devils football bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Dj 1993 births Living people Players of American football from Scottsdale, Arizona American football running backs Arizona State Sun Devils football players New England Patriots players Arizona Cardinals players Toronto Argonauts players 21st-century African-American sportsmen