Tennessee football: Vols top 30 players since 1998 national championship

Putting Arian Foster on here is controversial to some. He clearly had a better career in the NFL in college. Some of the infamous moments regarding Foster include the untimely fumbles against the Penn State Nittany Lions, the Florida Gators the and UCLA Bruins, the poor play his senior year, his admission as a pro to taking money while at UT and the drama behind his mom going on message boards and defending him when he was criticized.

But when you put all that aside, there’s no way to ignore the fact that he actually had a solid career on Rocky Top. Foster is the second-leading rusher in Tennessee football history. That can’t be ignored.

Despite a lack of athleticism that was made worse through a couple of injuries, Foster had great vision and an amazing work ethic. His willingness to block and understanding of the playbook are why Phillip Fulmer and David Cutcliffe played him a lot more than more athletic backs during his college days.

It’s worth noting that in 2007, Foster was probably the most valuable player on offense, not even Erik Ainge. He would’ve been the best running back in the SEC that year were it not for the Arkansas Razorbacks duo of Darren McFadden and Felix Jones.

In 2008, his numbers dipped, but he was playing for a brand new offense led by Dave Clawson and dealt with the horrendous quarterback play of Jonathan Crompton and Nick Stephens. As for his fumbles, yes, they happened to come at inopportune times. But overall, he rarely fumbled and had a case to make for his reliability. Because of that, he belongs on this list.