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Arian Foster the Second Former Vol to be an NFL Franchise’s All-Time Leading Rusher

By Caleb Calhoun

Oct 25, 2015; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Houston Texans running back Arian Foster (23) carries the ball past Miami Dolphins safety Reshad Jones (20) during the second half at Sun Life Stadium. The Dolphins won 44-26. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 25, 2015; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Houston Texans running back Arian Foster (23) carries the ball past Miami Dolphins safety Reshad Jones (20) during the second half at Sun Life Stadium. The Dolphins won 44-26. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /
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NFL running back and former Tennessee Vol Arian Foster will no longer be a part of the Houston Texans. He leaves as the franchise’s all-time leading rusher.

NFL running back and former Tennessee Vol Arian Foster will no longer be a part of the Houston Texans. He leaves as the franchise’s all-time leading rusher, picking up 6,472 yards and 54 touchdowns on 1,454 attempts in seven years, only four and a half of which he was the starter.

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Foster signed as an undrafted free agent after a very underwhelming senior season at Tennessee in 2008, the year everything came apart and Phillip Fulmer got fired. It wasn’t all Foster’s fault considering he was stuck in Dave Clawson’s system, which is rarely friendly to traditional backs like Foster and never friendly to anybody in its first year implemented.

However, with Foster leaving the Texans as the franchise’s all-time leading rusher, he is one of two former Vols to leave a franchise as its all-time leading rusher.

Jamal Lewis left the Ravens after the 2006 season as the franchise’s all-time leading rusher with 7,801 yards and 45 touchdowns on 1,822 carries in seven years as a starter. He finished his career with more than 10,000 yards on the ground.

Both Foster and Lewis held the records for all-time rushing yards and touchdowns for their respective franchises, and they both hold the single-season records for rushing yards and touchdowns at those franchises.

Foster led the league in rushing his first full year as a starter, and Lewis joined the 2,000-yard rushers club in 2003, his best season of his career.

That two running backs from the Fulmer era could dominate two franchises like that is a testament to the talent he brought to Knoxville. The ironic part is that both had under-whelming careers in Knoxville after strong freshmen seasons.

Lewis had a monster All-American caliber season his freshman year behind Peyton Manning in 1997 helping to lead the Vols to the SEC Championship, and he was great through the first four games of the 1998 national championship season. But then he was hurt for the year and replaced by Travis Henry as the team went undefeated, and he had a disappointing 1999 season as he was still recovering.

Foster battled injuries off and on in Knoxville but gave lots of hope once he took over the starting job from an injured Gerald Riggs Jr. his freshman year in 2005. However, he was part of a historically bad running game in 2006, a great running game in 2007, and a terrible offense overall in 2008.

Although he was a great team player and leader, Foster generated lots of negative attention for his untimely fumbles in college, most notably in the Outback Bowl against the Penn State Nittany Lions.

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Still, despite under-whelming finishes in Knoxville, both running backs proved that they were truly what they were as freshmen once they reached the NFL.

Good luck to Foster in the future. He is a great candidate to be a solid running back somewhere else as he nears the end of his career.

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