FOSTER!

[Y2Buddy]

Finally! A stud at RB. Now I like the fact we signed Lamer Lewis. That gives us good depth at RB and we're in better shape at RB to start the season then we've been in a long time. I said we'd take Portis, but I never thought we have a shot at Foster!

Fumbles? So what. Off the field issues? I don't care. If there is a team that going to sit him down and say LOOK DAMNIT! We don't don't want to put up with that shit!, It's the Panthers, and I'm ok with that.

He's has speed, power, and a good receiver. He should be excited about coming to the Panthers too with the opportunity to start right away, and I want him to start right away.

 

[meatpile]

I worry about the fumbles

Steve Smith handles that department just fine. BUT, these words from the Gaston Gazette made me feel slightly better:

The Panthers also had some inside information on Foster.

UCLA’s offensive coordinator, Terry Skipper, is the son of Panthers running backs coach Jim Skipper.

"His son is not going to mislead his Dad," Foster said. "If he knows me pretty good, they can know all the inside things about what I need to work on. I just know it will be a good situation in Carolina."

The Panthers seem more concerned with Foster’s fumbling than his college suspension.

Foster said he needs to focus on holding the ball high and tight, something he got away from in the Ohio State game.

"I had mixed feelings after that game. I just wanted to get out there the next week and have a good game, hold onto the football," Foster said.

And that’s exactly what he did. The following week he rebounded by running for 147 yards and three touchdowns versus Oregon State and then followed that up the next week by rushing for 301 yards and four touchdowns against Washington.

 

[derek4425]

You've got to check out his interview on panthers.com. You should hear the morons interviewing him asking for all kinds of personal information. Also, I had to laugh my ass off when they ask him about the current panthers and he mentioned Biakabatuka. He then went on to say he played against Lamar Smith a couple of years ago. All that aside though, I think this is the steal of the draft. I look for him to soon be the starter. He outshined everyone at the Senior Bowl. Luckily a few concerns allowed him to drop to us.

 

[p2k1f]

i agree. i think we did alright. some are so pissed off i think i'm gonna lay low. not in mood and am too uninformed for an argument.

 

[Xcaliber]

I liked the pick because there wasn't any CBs there. Maybe we should've traded down but the Panthers loved the guy so they must've not wanted to risk losing him.

 

[Savio]

Stuff on my man Foster

2000 — Foster was selected first-team All-Pac-10 by the league’s coaches despite missing one game and most of a second due to a broken bone in his right hand which hindered him for the remainder of the season … He led the Bruins in rushing with 1,037 yards, running for at least 100 yards on four occasions … He also led the team with 13 touchdowns and 78 points … His 1,000-yard season was the 15th in UCLA history and his 1,037 yards rank 13th on the single-season list … His 269 carries rank third on that single-season list … During the regular season, Foster ranked 36th in the nation and fourth in the Pac-10 in rushing (93.0), fourth in the Pac-10 in scoring (7.2 points) and fourth in the Pac-10 in all-purpose yards (107.2) … He started 10 of the 11 games in which he appeared and played at least 45 snaps 10 times, including 78 versus Alabama, 68 at Arizona, 66 versus Michigan and Stanford, 62 at Oregon and 61 versus Wisconsin … Foster was sidelined in the first half of the Arizona State game with a fractured third metacarpal in his right hand … He missed the Cal game and returned to action against Oregon State … He returned to the starting lineup in the road win at Arizona … He carried the ball 29 times for 78 yards and a rushing touchdown in Tucson … On UCLA’s initial scoring drive of the game, he carried on seven of the 12 plays of the drive, rushing six times on first down for gains of five, seven, five, five, 12 and one yard for the touchdown … In the Nov. 4 win over Stanford, playing with a smaller cast on his right hand, he rushed for 159 yards, the second-highest total of his career, and a 14-yard touchdown … He also made two receptions for 37 yards, including a 21-yard touchdown that gave the Bruins the lead for good, 20-14 … On Nov. 11 at Washington, he rushed for 93 yards on 20 carries … In the second quarter, he carried seven times for 40 yards, including a 12-yard touchdown with 3:30 left in the half and a one-yard run with 0:43 prior to halftime … In the regular-season finale against USC, he gained 43 yards on 20 attempts … Against Wisconsin in the Sun Bowl, he rushed for 107 yards on 26 attempts, including a seven-yard touchdown in the second quarter … He ran for 100 yards on 18 attempts in the first half but was hampered by bruised ribs that limited his effectiveness in the final half … In the season opener against Alabama, he enjoyed one of the greatest games in UCLA history while carrying the football 42 times to tie the school record set by Karim Abdul-Jabbar in 1995 … He was at his best in the fourth quarter as UCLA was protecting its 35-24 lead, carrying the ball on 12 of the team’s 16 offensive plays (excluding a final kneel by the quarterback) for 59 yards and three key first downs … On the afternoon, Foster rushed for a career-high 187 yards and three touchdowns (his previous high was 118 yards at Arizona in 1998) … His total was the highest since the 1997 Bruin opener when Skip Hicks rushed for 190 at Washington State … Foster carried the ball 21 times for 93 yards in the first half and 21 times for 94 yards in the second half … He had five double-digit runs and produced 12 first downs … In the win over Fresno State, he carried the ball 29 times for 140 yards and two touchdowns … For the second straight week, he converted a fourth-down play into a touchdown and his 49-yard tackle-breaking, change of direction TD run with 8:49 remaining was his longest since his 65-yard score in the 1998 USC game … In the win over the then No. 3 Wolverines, he carried the ball 24 times for 95 net yards and his sixth touchdown of the season … In the second half, he gained 83 yards on 16 attempts, including a five-yard touchdown in the third quarter … In the final 15 minutes, he carried the ball eight times for 54 yards, including a 29-yard run on UCLA’s game-winning touchdown drive … In the Pac-10 opener at Oregon, he was limited to just 49 net yards on 19 attempts … In the win over Arizona State, he fractured the third metacarpal in his right hand in the first quarter, played one snap in the second quarter and was finished for the night … At the time, he had carried nine times for 30 yards … He missed the game at California and returned to action against Oregon State … He entered the game for UCLA’s second series and carried five times for 18 yards, including a two-yard touchdown … On the afternoon, he gained 56 net yards on 18 attempts and also made one reception.

1999 — Despite a high sprain of his right ankle that affected virtually his entire season, Foster led the Bruins in rushing five times in 1999 … He finished the season as the team’s second-leading rusher with 375 yards and led the squad with six touchdowns … He also placed fourth on the squad with 17 receptions … Foster played in nine of 11 games and started five times (the first four and the last one) … Due to the ankle injury, which happened during the Stanford contest, he carried just five times in the month of October (he did not play against California and Oregon State and carried once versus Oregon and twice at Arizona State and against Arizona) … In the season finale against USC, despite playing behind a patchwork offensive line, he led the Bruins in rushing with 59 yards on 17 attempts but lost a fumble at the Trojan five-yard line … He also led the team with six receptions for 30 yards … In the victory over Washington, he rushed for a team-high 69 yards on 24 attempts and scored UCLA’s two touchdowns on runs of eight and three yards … Foster enjoyed his best game of the season at Stanford when he romped for 100 yards on 19 carries and scored two touchdowns … In that game, he produced seven runs resulting in first downs, in addition to the two TDs, and caught three passes for 33 yards … On Sept. 11 at Ohio State, he rushed for a team-high 51 yards on 17 carries and scored his second touchdown of the year, a seven-yard run that cut the OSU lead to four points (21-17) early in the second half … In the opener against Boise State, he led the Bruins with 55 yards on 17 carries and scored UCLA’s first touchdown … Also played a total of five snaps in the defensive secondary in UCLA’s first two games.

 

[Savio]

1998 — In his first season at UCLA, Foster earned first-team Freshman All-America honors for his exploits … Foster finished the year with 673 yards, the most ever by a UCLA true freshman … He was the first true freshman to lead the team in rushing since Skip Hicks in 1993 and the first true freshman since Hicks to rush for over 100 yards twice in the same season … On the year, he was the team’s leading rusher with his 673 yards and averaged a team-best 5.3 yards per attempt … He ranked second on the team with 12 touchdowns (10 rushing and two receiving), a new school record for true freshmen … During the regular season, he ranked fifth (tied) in the conference in scoring (7.2), seventh in rushing (63.5) and 13th in all-purpose yards (105.5) … He tied for third on the squad with 16 receptions for 163 yards and two touchdowns, including a 51-yard score … He also averaged 26.6 yards on eight kickoff returns and 7.1 yards on eight punt returns … He led the team in rushing five times, including each of the final four regular-season games … Foster played in 11 games in 1998, missing most of the Oregon game and all of the contest at California with a sprained knee … Foster wrote his name into Bruin lore by scoring all four touchdowns (three rushing and one receiving) in UCLA’s 34-17 victory over USC … He became the first true freshman in school history to score four TDs in one game and tied the overall school record held by numerous players, including teammate Jermaine Lewis … His four-yard receiving touchdown gave the Bruins the lead for good (7-3 in the first quarter) and his 65-yard TD, the longest run of his young career, just two plays after USC had closed to within four points, gave the Bruins a 21-10 lead with 11:15 to play in the second quarter … On the afternoon, Foster led the team with 109 yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries and made three receptions for 18 yards and one TD … At Miami, he led the Bruins with 79 yards on 16 carries and established a new Bruin season rushing record for freshmen … In the Rose Bowl game against Wisconsin, he ran for 38 yards on 10 attempts … Foster scored the first two touchdowns of the Oregon game (51-yard pass reception and a four-yard run) before spraining the MCL in his left knee in the second quarter and sitting out the rest of the contest … The previous week, he had rushed for a career-best 118 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries at Arizona … It marked the first time a true freshman had rushed for over 100 yards since Durell Price rumbled for 110 yards against NE Louisiana in a 1996 contest in the Rose Bowl … It was also the highest total by a true freshman since Skip Hicks ran for 132 against Arizona State in 1993 … In the Arizona game, Foster had five runs of over 10 yards including a 37-yard scoring run for UCLA’s first score of the game on his first attempt and a one-yard TD in the second quarter … He had 188 all-purpose yards, including a 45-yard kickoff return (his longest) to begin the drive that gave the Bruins the lead for good … Foster returned to the Bruin attack in the second half of the Stanford game after sitting out against California due to the knee injury … He rambled for 51 yards on nine attempts versus the Cardinal, including an eight-yard dash for the game-winning score in the fourth quarter … In his debut, Foster ran seven times for 44 yards versus Texas and carried six times for 30 yards the following week at Houston … He rushed for 77 yards against Washington State, including a 40-yard dash … He also added 60 yards on two kickoff returns, 34 yards on five punt returns and 14 yards on two receptions for a total of 185 all-purpose yards … On Nov. 7 at Oregon State, he scored his sixth TD on the ground to set a school record for true freshmen previously held by three players (Skip Hicks-1993, Shawn Wills-1989, Gaston Green-1984 each had five) … The next week at Washington, he went for a team-best 73 yards on 11 carries and scored on a one-yard run early in the fourth quarter … Despite not starting a single game, he played at least 25 snaps on six occasions, including 39 at Arizona, 34 at Miami, 30 against Washington State and Wisconsin, 29 versus USC and 28 at Washington … He touched the ball 154 times and lost just two fumbles.

 

[PantherMills]

This was thrown around in the chat, but Foster's OC @ UCLA is/was Skipper's son. I hope jr. steered his dad in the right direction.
I really think Foster was the best back in the draft, barring injuries.