Thursday, November 5, 1998
Foster freezes defenses
FEATURE: True freshman’s spark has ignited
Bruin football and helped to kindle team’s magical winning
streak
By Jeff Kmiotek
Daily Bruin Staff
Going into the season, DeShaun Foster knew the football team
traveled with three tailbacks, and he just wanted to be one of
them.
As a true freshman, he didn’t expect to be much of a contributor
to UCLA’s championship run. But now it is Foster who is running
UCLA to the championship.
Foster has burst onto the scene to become the Bruins’ big-play
guy. He has quickly become a legitimate threat to break any play
for a long touchdown, whether it be a run, a reception or a kick
return.
"DeShaun brings an energy to our team because he’s so young and
he wants to play," said center Shaun Stuart. "He brings a lot of
talent and a lot of hard-nosed running to our game."
A year ago, Foster was enjoying one of the best seasons in
California prep-football history as a senior at Tustin High School.
He slaughtered the state record with 54 rushing touchdowns and
averaged over 10 yards per carry. His list of high school accolades
seems never-ending.
"He is just a tremendous talent," said quarterback Cade McNown.
"He will get better, which is scary."
For most freshmen, the transition to college football takes a
lot of time to get used to, but Foster has already proven himself
as one of the most dangerous tailbacks in the conference.
"It’s exciting," said Foster. "This freshman class is having a
lot of fun."
Foster has scored six touchdowns in six games played, and would
be leading the team in rushing if he wasn’t slowed by an
injury.
After he scored the Bruins’ first two touchdowns against Oregon,
Foster sprained the medial collateral ligament in his left knee
when he was tackled at the end of a 10-yard reception. He was
scheduled to be sidelined for a month, but in typical Foster
fashion, he shocked everybody when he made an appearance in last
week’s win over Stanford, just two weeks after the injury.
Not only did he just appear, but his presence sparked the entire
offense and he scored the game-winning touchdown. He rushed nine
times for 51 yards, including an eight-yard scamper which gave UCLA
a 28-24 lead. Like his favorite cartoon character Scooby-Doo,
Foster managed to save the day.
"Once he got injured, he worked very hard to rehab it. He’s a
tough guy," said head coach Bob Toledo. "He had a very aggressive
attitude about getting back on the field. I was pleasantly
surprised he did as well as he did (against Stanford)."
Toledo stated Foster is still not 100 percent, and may not be
100 percent for the duration of the season.
"I don’t know about that," said Foster. "I’m about 90 percent
right now, but I’ll probably be 100 percent by USC or the bowl
game."
Even at 50 percent, Foster is better than most college
tailbacks. He possesses an extraordinary ability to find holes, hit
them hard and break tackles.
"He’s very special," said Toledo. "The thing about him is he has
great vision."
At the time of his injury, Foster ranked in the Top 10 in the
Pac-10 in rushing, punt returns, kickoff returns and all-purpose
yards. Even with the injury, he ranks eighth in the conference in
rushing.
His breakout game came against Arizona, when he rushed for 118
yards and scored twice. It was the highest total by a true freshman
since Skip Hicks in 1993. Foster’s first touchdown run of the game
came on an incredible 37-yard run, in which he broke tackle after
tackle before sprinting to the end zone.
On the year, he has amassed 334 yards on 62 carries, an average
of 5.4 yards per carry.
"I’m satisfied with my play to a point," said Foster. "I know
I’m playing pretty well, but I still have to pick up blocking and
stuff like that.
"The offense is complex. At first I was having problems, but now
I’m cool with it."
Even when Foster isn’t playing football, he’s still, well,
playing football.
After a long day of playing on the field, he plays it on the
couch on his Sony Playstation. It’s no surprise that Foster’s
favorite game is NCAA Football ’99. He primarily uses the UCLA
Bruins and plays as himself.
With all that Foster has accomplished at such an early age, one
question commonly arises. How good can this guy be? Heisman
candidate? Top draft pick?
Only time will tell, but Foster certainly has the skills and the
athletic ability to make the answers to these questions
affirmative.
He puts most of the pressure for his success on his offensive
line.
"I go pretty much as the line takes me. As good as they are is
as good as I’ll be," he said.
"If (winning the Heisman trophy) happens, that’s cool with me,
but I’m not banking my whole life on it."
For now, Foster is just doing what is asked of him, and more. He
continually performs beyond expectations, amazing everybody but
himself.BAHMAN FARAHDEL/Daily Bruin
True freshman DeShaun Foster has quickly become one of the
Bruins’ deadliest offensive threats.
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