Marcus Forston (born September 28, 1989) is a former

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

who was signed by the

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as an

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in 2012. He played

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for the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

Early life

Forston was born in

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

and was a three-year starter at

Miami Northwestern High School Miami Northwestern Senior High School is a public four-year high school located in Miami, Florida, United States. The school has struggled with test scores. It has had successful football and track programs and numerous alumni became professional ...

, where he helped lead Miami Northwestern towards back-to-back Florida 6A state championships. Forston had a strong junior year in 2006 earning 92 tackles and 20 sacks. He played an instrumental part in Miami Northwestern's Florida 6A State championship. Forston was included to the Miami Herald's All-Dade 6A-4A Football team. Forston's older brother, Dustin, played college football at

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and

FAU FAU or Fau may refer to: Education * Florida Atlantic University, in Boca Raton, Florida, U.S. * University of Erlangen–Nuremberg (German: ), in Bavaria, Germany People * Felix Anudike-Uzomah (born 2002), American football player * André F ...

. Forston entered into his senior year as a heavily sought-after recruit. Forston accounted for 72 tackles, earned 20 sacks, and forced 7 fumbles during his senior season at Miami Northwestern (2007), which often came while he was double or triple-teamed. Moreover, Forston sometimes lined up at

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

on goal-line situations (he caught one touchdown pass). Forston earned county and state honors for his play and was named to the Miami Herald's All Dade First-team and the State of Florida's All-State first-team. Forston also earned national recognition being named to several All-American teams, including ''

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'', ''

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'', and ''

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''. Forston was chosen to represent East Team in the U.S. Army All-American game as a starter and was considered one of the best defensive tackles coming out of high school in 2008, earning comparisons to

Warren Sapp Warren Carlos Sapp (born December 19, 1972) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle for 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He played college football ...

. In 2010, '' Rivals.com'' called Forston—in retrospect—“maybe the best nose tackle prospect in the past five years.” Forston was considered a five-star recruit by '' Rivals.com'' and was ranked the No. 1 defensive tackle in the nation. He chose Miami over Notre Dame,

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

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, and

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, calling Miami the "dream college right around the corner from my house."

College career

Forston played as a

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in 2008 and was instrumental to the

's defensive rotation. During his freshman season, Forston recorded 17 tackles with 4.5 tackles for loss, and 3 quarterback sacks. Forston was given the nickname “Big Boom” by his teammates. Forston subsequently earned multiple All-Freshman honors and was named to ''FWAA′s'' Freshman All-America team, ''College Football News′'' All-Freshman first-team, and ''Rivals.com′s'' 2008 Freshman All-America team. His sophomore season in 2009 was derailed by an ankle injury that kept Forston out for the season. Forston was thereby granted a medical redshirt for the 2009 season. Forston came back strongly during the 2010 season registering 37 total tackles (16 solo and 21 assisted), 12 tackles for loss, 3 quarterback sacks, 1 interception and 2 passes defended. Forston's final season was cut short because of a season-ending knee injury against Bethune-Cookman. Forston subsequently decided to forgo his final season of eligibility and entered the

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Professional career

2012 NFL draft

Forston entered the NFL Combine graded as the No. 15 prospect among defensive tackles. His workout performance was rather unimpressive compared to other defensive line prospects. Projected as a seventh-round selection by ''

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'', Forston was ranked as the No. 24 defensive tackle available in the

2012 NFL draft The 2012 NFL draft was the 77th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players for their rosters. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held ...

. Forston was not drafted in the 2012 NFL draft.

New England Patriots

;2012 Season Forston was signed as a UDFA after the draft by the New England Patriots. Forston initially made the team, but was waived on September 26. He was then re-signed to the team's practice squad and was later activated by the New England Patriots. Forston played in one game during the season; a 31-30 week 3 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. ;2013 Season Forston was waived by the New England Patriots entering the 2013 season, but was later signed to their practice squad. Forston was re-signed by the New England Patriots after

Vince Wilfork Vincent Lamar Wilfork (born November 4, 1981) is an American former professional football player who was a nose tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the New England Patriots. He played college football fo ...

's season-ending injury. Forston registered one tackle for loss in 'New England's Week 6 30-27 win against the New Orleans Saints. Forston earned his first NFL start in New England's Week 7 30-27 loss to the

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, registering two tackles, with one tackle for loss. On August 21, 2014, Forston was released by the Patriots.

St. Louis Rams

After not being offered by any NFL team in 2014, Forston interrupted his football career and worked in security. A

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major in college, he had offers to join the Miami Gardens Police Department and the

Atlanta Police Department The Atlanta Police Department (APD) is a law enforcement agency in the city of Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. The city shifted from its rural-based Marshal and Deputy Marshal model at the end of the 19th century. In 1873, ...

. In early August 2015, the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...

signed Forston for their off-season roster. On September 5, 2015, he was waived by the Rams.

References

External links

New England Patriots bioMiami Hurricanes bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Forston, Marcus 1989 births Living people 2011 University of Miami athletics scandal American football defensive tackles Miami Hurricanes football players Miami Northwestern Senior High School alumni New England Patriots players Players of American football from Miami St. Louis Rams players