By, Matt Alkire
When you first flip on film
of Pleasant Grove High School’s defense, Tim Foster is an easy player to spot.
The general response from anyone who is familiar with the 6-foot-2, 230-pound
sophomore linebacker would tell me that I’m writing the obvious, but in fact
I’m not. As talented and physically imposing as Foster is, Pleasant Grove
doesn’t make him easy to find.
Their defensive scheme
consists of plenty of different looks. First you’ll see the young player lining
up as a MIKE in their 4-3, however he’ll move to SAM as well and rush off the
edge. They will also stem a linebacker into the nines for a 5-2 look where
Foster is impressive at both MIKE and SAM. When they switch to a 3-4, you can
him at five-tech taking up double teams. He’s also a force to be reckoned with
off the edge in the four-man front. In other words, finding Foster can be
tricky and when you combine that versatility with his talent you have the
ingredients to drive the opposing coordinator nightmares.
For the Pleasant Grove, Ga.,
native it has become normal however.
“It was difficult at first to
know all of my responsibilities in each scheme, but because I started my
freshman year I caught onto everything quickly with the help of some senior
leaders on the team,” Foster said. “I really enjoy playing SAM and defensive
end the most. Playing at SAM you just get more contact and getting to make
plays and at end I thrive with that competition. You go up against those big,
talented big boys and I love that. That’s where I feel you’ll see the best come
out in me. For example, when I went against the best offensive tackle in the
state I had three sacks, two forced turnovers and three pass deflections. I
just get up for those games.”
“When you get into those
games you have to know what the task ahead of you is and attack it, but at the
same time you have to realize it’s a team sport. The task is to take care of
your house and have the rest of your team do the same.”
As a senior, Foster had 65
tackles, 19 tackles for loss, 12 sacks, four interceptions, eight forced
fumbles and two fumble recoveries. He was named first-team All-County for his
exemplary play for the Spartans.
Pleasant Grove High School
went 7-3 this season and lost in the first round of the playoffs, but Foster certainly
didn’t go down without a fight. Going up against Pinson Valley who is a loaded
squad the versatile linebacker had an outstanding game.
“They had a wide receiver
that is going to Auburn (Earnest Robinson), a linebacker Zach Cunningham
(Alabama offer, among many others) and a running back in Nick Gibson who is
talking to Nick Saban (and has a Mississippi State offer as a junior),” Foster
explained. “I actually made Gibson fumble in the 4th quarter with
five minutes to go which gave us momentum, but our offense couldn’t score. They
came back on the field and we stopped them dead at the goal line again. When
our offense got the ball back they couldn’t score again. Finally, Earnest got
in the end zone and we lost by six points. I ended up with five tackles for
loss, three sacks and two forced fumbles in the game.”
This offseason, Foster plans
on really improving certain parts of his game more than others.
“I’ll be working on my speed,
opening up my hips and doing a lot of lifting obviously,” Foster stated. “My
coach told me I really don’t need to get bigger, but it’s about core strength
and becoming a more athletic player over the offseason. I just get out of the
house every day and work out on my own too, making sure I get fruit and water
in me to stay healthy.”
Frankly after watching his
sophomore highlights, I feel Foster is definitely on the right track here.
Right now his pad level and
overall body control – starting at the hips - are areas where he has the most
room for improvement. At the linebacker position you have to play low and
Foster does tend to come high, therefore on all plays he doesn’t change
direction very fluidly. However, when he does come into the backfield with a
low center of gravity, he will flip and dip to make really nice plays. Simply
put, it’s not a matter of him not having the athleticism but simply repetition
and muscle memory. He needs to keep low and work on his explosion.
Foster may not be an
extremely instinctual linebacker at this point, but not all linebackers are. He
does read and react very well which is simply different. I see sound tackling
for the most part, very physical play against linemen and the ability to shed
and move on the ball in one motion. Foster is aware of what is happening around
him. He is very stout. The added dimension he brings as a pass rusher is also
impressive.
What remains to be seen is
how much he continues to grow. He could end up as a 3-4 outside ‘backer or
defensive end.
The rest of his family wasn’t
bad in the area of sport either.
His father, Tim Foster Sr.,
played baseball for Jackson State University in college. His uncle was also a
running back for Tennessee State and spent time in training camp for the
Cleveland Browns. He hopes to follow in his uncle’s footsteps for football
while his father wants him in baseball.
Foster is very set on what he
wants to do.
“I’ve always loved football
so much more. The first time I held a football it was just special. I had two
older brothers that were great at the sport and they worked with me and teach
me how to run routes starting at four years old. We were just out in the back
yard when I was a little kid, getting taught how to run my post routes the
right way. My brothers played wide receiver and running back, but they didn’t want
to play in college and pursued higher education exclusively.”
Both his mother and his
father have given him sage advice.
“My father has always taught
me that football is always going to be there, but it’s the impact that you
leave on your life and on football,” Foster told us. “On the other hand, every
day before I leave the house my mother tells me that we all make choices but at
the end, our choices make us.”
Foster and his older brother
have a bit of a training ritual that they do on a regular basis. It was one
that seemed quite fitting for what his mother tells him every day.
“My brother takes me to my
grandmother’s house where there is a huge hill I run up all the time,” Foster
offered. “This thing is huge. I mean it takes literally two or three minutes to
get to the top sprinting at full speed, so when you get there, you’re just
done. The one thing is, when you get to the top you’re overlooking the entire
city and look back and see the bottom of that hill. It’s sweet. You’re on top
of the world for a minute and you made it, just like life.”
So, every day Tim Foster
follows his mother’s advice making the choice to run up those hills, both
literally and figuratively.
No comments:
Post a Comment