Tennessee football: Top 10 rushing leaders in Vols history

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Tennessee’s Arian Foster dives over the top of the line for a 1-yard touchdown against Louisiana-Lafayette on Saturday at Neyland Stadium. The Vols celebrated homecoming by crushing the Ragin’ Cajuns 59-7, improving to 6-3 for the season.Arian Foster Touchdown 2007 /

Tennessee football career rushing leader No. 2: Arian Foster (2005-08)

2,964 rushing yards
23 rushing touchdowns
4.6 yards per rush

Arian Foster was the centerpiece of Phil Fulmer’s last four teams at Tennessee. Foster was around for Fulmer’s final four seasons and as a freshman, he ran for 879 yards and five touchdowns as a part of a 5-6 team.

Then, Foster took a backseat to Lamarcus Coker and Montario Hardesty in 2006 as the Vols made a run to the Outback Bowl in a 9-4 season. The next year was even better, Fulmer’s last 10-win season, and Foster’s only 1,000 yards rushing season.

In 2007, Foster ran for 1,193 yards on 245 carries in 14 games. He also caught 39 passes for 340 yards and scored 14 total touchdowns. He earned the lion’s share of the carries in a backfield that still featured Coker and Hardesty.

Finally, in 2008 Foster still was the No. 1 running back, but in 11 games he ran for just 570 yards and Tennessee went 5-6. It was a disappointing end to his collegiate career, but Foster went on to play in the NFL for eight seasons and was a four-time Pro-Bowler and one-time All-Pro after going undrafted.

Foster is still Houston’s all-time leading rusher.

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