The Reuben Foster Thread

[|BlackJesus|]

No player is mocked more to the Bengals at #9 than Foster, so figured I would create a thread to discuss everything related to him.

Reuben Foster

MLB, Alabama

6'0

229 lbs

32 3/8" Arm Length

10 1/4" hands

Age: 23

No (40 time) injured shoulder

Highlights below ...

 

[|BlackJesus|]

NFL.com on Reuben Foster

Overview

Alabama's star inside linebacker started his ascension to elite prospect status last summer when he lost 20 pounds. His newfound speed and agility, while keeping his trademark aggression and instincts, made him a unanimous first-team All-American and All-SEC pick. Foster also won the Butkus Award as the nation's top linebacker and was a finalist for the Bednarik Award, leading the Tide with 115 tackles, 13 for which went for losses including five sacks. He won the SEC Championship MVP, as well (11 tackles, 2.5 for loss, two sacks). Foster was a starter as a junior (73 tackles, eight TFL, two sacks, nine pass break-ups) after two seasons as a key reserve MIKE linebacker and special teams ace (12 tackles in 2013; 22 tackles, two TFL in 2014).

Analysis

Strengths

Alpha mentality with ferocious hitting style that puts offensive skill positions on alert. Outstanding athlete with springy, reactive feet. Lost 15 pounds in off-season, which gave him more speed and explosiveness. Loose hips and long stride allows him to open and chase immediately. Has elite sideline-to-sideline range. Tough as nails. Brings swagger to a linebacking corps. Never passive and always means it. Willing to take his shots downhill and into gaps. Lands strong warning blows on climbing guards early in the game. Coverage ability is an asset. Logged 10 passes defensed in 2015. Can carry long speed against running backs on wheel routes and nine routes. Has worked to improve tackling technique, which has yielded higher success rate of finishes.

Weaknesses

Instincts are just average. Overly reliant on speed and athleticism over instincts and feel. Can be a tick slow to respond to play-action. Inconsistent defeating blocks. Too eager to take on everyone at the point of attack. Gets shoulder covered up firing into incoming blockers. Needs to improve stack and shed technique to keep himself clean. Will drop his head at times as tackler. Poor tackling technique led to "stinger" issues early in his career.

Sources Tell Us

"He's not a MIKE linebacker. I think he's a pure run-and-hit WILL linebacker with good cover talent. I'm worried about what his medicals will show because he's had some issues with stingers during his career. I have a higher grade on him than I had on Reggie Ragland. Better pro potential to me." -- NFC director of scouting

NFL Comparison

Bobby Wagner

Bottom Line

Foster is a vicious hitter with elite playmaking range and an ability to toggle between 225 and 240 pounds. Athleticism gives him cover ability that former teammate Reggie Ragland never possessed. Has Pro Bowl potential as a 3-4 inside linebacker or a 4-3 weak-side linebacker, but concerns over his medical history could be a consideration, according to some teams.

[|BlackJesus|]

Note: Foster is visiting the Bengals, Colts, Saints, Titans and Ravens this week.

[|BlackJesus|]

What the experts are saying about Foster:

NFL.com analyst Lance Zierlein had this to say about the Alabama linebacker:

Foster is a vicious hitter with elite playmaking range and an ability to toggle between 225 and 240 pounds. Athleticism gives him cover ability that former teammate Reggie Ragland never possessed. Has Pro Bowl potential as a 3-4 inside linebacker or a 4-3 weak-side linebacker, but concerns over his medical history could be a consideration, according to some teams.

ESPN’s Mel Kiper in a mock draft projecting Foster No. 15 to the Colts:

“Let’s be clear here: I don’t have Foster, a top-five talent, dropping because of his bizarre combine ejection. He’s dropping here because not many teams above the Colts at No. 15 need a true inside linebacker. The Bengals and Saints, for instance, have both signed inside linebackers in free agency. Whichever team takes Foster, though, is getting a big-time, sideline-to-sideline defender with All-Pro potential.”

ESPN’s Todd McShay, in his mock, pegs Foster to the Bengals at nine:

“The Bengals like high-production players from the highest level of college football, and they don’t shy away from drafting players with some character red flags. Foster, who was sent home early from the combine and is a true three-down linebacker, certainly fits the profile. He has some of the best tape of anyone in this class, and he shows great range versus the run.”

Rob Rang of CBS Sports ranked Foster 10th on his big board

With all due respect to Myles Garrett and the rest of this dynamic edge rusher class, Foster might just be the most explosive defender in the entire 2017 draft. An intimidating face-up hitter with sideline-to-sideline speed, Foster projects as an immediate difference-maker in the middle in the NFL and a possible top 10 choice.

[|BlackJesus|]

Reuben Foster, Inside and Outside the Lines

by Robert Klemko

March 21, 2017

His immense talent—the best linebacker of the Saban era at Alabama—is offset by a litany of off-the-field questions, underlined by his infamous dismissal from the combine two weeks ago. Now the question: Where and when will Foster come off the board on draft night?

Ask former Alabama linebacker Reuben Foster to get up from the interviewee’s seat and explain a blitz on the whiteboard, and you might be unimpressed. Ask him to explain what happened at the hospital in Indianapolis, and you might leave unsatisfied. Ask him about his support network of friends and family, and you might feel unsure.

But if you ask him about Ball, that stuff between the white lines, you just might fall in love.

“There’s that moment,” Foster says though a smile, “when you first hit somebody and you get chills. You hear the crowd say Ooooh. And before that, when you put on your suit and you transform and you become a dog; you’re a beast. Just seeing all the other guys become a dog with you. No stress.”

Foster can’t wait to get back in that moment and move beyond what has been an emotionally taxing pre-draft process. His childhood dream of performing at the NFL scouting combine was derailed by offseason rotator cuff surgery, and his brief stay in Indianapolis, for medical evaluations and interviews with NFL teams, was cut short when he engaged in a heated argument with a hospital employee while waiting in the long line for medical tests at Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital.

Two weeks ago, Alabama invited teams to come a day early to its pro day to interview Foster, who was thoroughly prepped and equally contrite.

“The main point I want to get across is that I’m sorry, because it was a dream experience for me to be there at the combine,” Foster says. “And it hurts not to be there, even with me not touching him and just arguing with him. There are plenty of opportunities to let someone take you down. At the end of the day it didn’t do nothing but hurt me. It was a learning experience, a small stepping stone.”

Teams had plenty of other questions for Foster and his coaches and associates: What was the story behind that triple shooting in April at an Auburn nightclub where Foster had been partying? What kind of impact will Foster’s family and friends have on his career once the checks start rolling in? And just how did Foster become the defensive signal caller at Alabama if he’s uncomfortable drawing plays on the board?

He is considered a high-first round talent, one of the best linebackers to come out in years and the most highly regarded to emerge from Tuscaloosa during the Saban era. Yet, at least one NFL team with a selection in the top 15 had already removed Foster from consideration before the incident at the combine.

“He already had immaturity, issues with life skills. This is the same guy,” said an evaluator for the team after Foster was sent home from Indianapolis. “We’re not in the market.”

It’s enough to make you want to put on a suit and transform into someone else, somewhere simpler. “I can’t wait for this all to be over,” Foster says, “so I can settle down and just play football.”

The angst that has come with the uncertain period between Foster’s final game as a collegian and draft day is a familiar feeling. An Auburn, Ala., native, he had transferred to Auburn High for his senior year and proceeded to flip-flop on college commitments—Alabama to Auburn back to Alabama—during his recruitment. In February 2013, four days after he officially committed to Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide, Foster’s estranged father was arrested in Miami after 16 years as a fugitive. Danny Foster’s alleged crime? In February 1996, he shot ex-girlfriend Inita Berry Paige and their 19-month-old son, Reuben. Mother and son survived. The elder Foster was indicted by a grand jury that year before he fled to California. When he was arrested and extradited to Randolph County, he managed to escape from county jail that December.

According to police records, Foster used the blade of a hacksaw to breach his cell window. Bizarrely, he left a note for the warden, reading: “Hi there. You didn’t think I’ll ever be out again. I’m sorry but didn’t I tell you that when I get ready to GO, I would let you know and now you know. Thanks, Danny.”

In the months following his 2013 apprehension, Foster’s father started a Twitter account managed by a relative and tried to reach out to his children, including Reuben, who engaged in a back and forth with his Danny long enough to forgive him. Since then, Reuben says he’s had little contact with his father, who was sentenced to 30 years in prison with a earliest release date of July 17, 2035.

“I don’t have no relationship with him,” Reuben says. “He tried to get back in my life when he got caught. I told him I forgave him, and he wrote back saying how sorry he was. Teams have asked about that. But they don’t have to worry because he’s locked up.”

The summer following Danny’s final arrest, Saban welcomed Reuben Foster, the heralded 240-pound, five-star linebacker who was still reeling from the episode. “It was extremely emotional and a very personal thing, and an experience he grew from,” Saban told The MMQB.

Mentored by senior team captain C.J. Mosley, now of the Baltimore Ravens, as a freshman, Foster progressed to become a hard-hitting, on-field leader for the Tide. He played in a reserve role as a freshman and sophomore. Over his final two seasons, he notched 188 tackles, 21 for loss, with six sacks, becoming Saban’s defensive play-caller as Alabama went 28-2.

Then the draft process began, and the sort of scrutiny Saban warns players about came down on Foster. Saban has pushed back, publicly and privately, against those who have questioned Foster’s maturity, saying last week that teams would find a good teammate in Foster, if not a “candy striper.”

“I don’t think he’s immature at all,” Saban says. “I think he’s an outgoing personality. You might even say when he’s cutting up with his teammates he’s a little silly, but that should not be mistaken for immaturity. He graduated here. We never had a problem with him. He’s easy to talk to and reason with. And he’s not immature at all when it comes to competitive character, getting ready to prepare and play in a game.”

Saban says he hopes Foster’s agent, Malki Kawa, provides a comprehensive support network like the one Foster built at Alabama in order to ease his transition into professional life. Adds Saban: “I think it’s important that he has people around him who will provide him good direction, have good experience and the ability to anticipate what’s happening, so you don’t get these emotional responses to things that are insignificant.”

The major concern with Foster for NFL teams, beyond the off-field questions, is his ability to absorb a playbook. Foster has struggled in interviews with teams who ask him to draw concepts with X’s and O’s. “I’ve been working to get better,” Foster says. “Other people learn different, other people have ADHD, or have a learning disorder. X’s and O’s on boards is hard to do for me. I second-guess myself.”

He performs best when watching film and learning on the field, Saban says. “If you put on the film he’ll be able to tell you chapter and verse because that’s how he learned it.”

“He was always a kinesthetic learner,” says George Brewer, a former assistant at Troup County High in LaGrange, Ga., where Foster attended until transferring to Auburn High for his senior year. Brewer ran the in-school suspension program at the school and would host Foster while he crammed to catch up with his varsity teammates as a freshman. By the fourth week of the season he was starting at middle linebacker and making defensive checks on a team with multiple blue-chip recruits.

“They said, He’s a freshman, he won’t be able to get it,” Brewer recalls. “He’d [visit Brewer during in-school suspension] and come learn the calls and the reads. Extremely talented; this kid dunked in seventh grade. He was ahead of his age in terms of maturity on the field. Tough? He broke his hand in practice and they put a cast on it, and he never missed a practice. I had some older guys who were the big dogs, but they all respected Reuben because he didn’t take crap from nobody.”

Reuben considered Brewer and Troup County head coach Charles Flowers something like father figures, staying at Brewer’s home “from time to time,” Brewer says, and occasionally working at a sports bar Brewer owned in Atlanta. When Flowers was fired from the school for allegedly recruiting and paying a player, Foster transferred back to Auburn.

That’s when the frenzy surrounding the talented linebacker kicked into high gear. Recruiting gurus Ellis Johnson and Kirby Smart, of Auburn and Alabama, respectively, went to war for the services of the No. 1 player in the state and the No. 1-rated inside linebacker in the country, according to Rivals.com. Foster fanned the flames by getting an Auburn tattoo during his verbal commitment to the school before changing his mind. Meanwhile, local police prowled Auburn High games with an eye out for Danny Foster, guessing he might reemerge amidst his son’s rise to fame.

Recruiting ended when Foster committed to Tuscaloosa with his young daughter in tow, wearing a Saban-themed outfit complete with vest and straw hat. The drama subsided until last April. Foster, at that point a star for the Tide, found himself in a nightclub where his friend, Recco Cobb, 43, was among three people shot to death. A relative of Cobb’s, Tarabien Latrent Cobb, 33, was arrested and charged with murder. Police said Foster was present, but not involved.

“Wrong place at the wrong time,” Foster says of the shooting. “You have to be cautious with what you do and what you say. Seeing that changed my mindset. You never know what somebody’s going through. Don’t talk down to nobody. That’s what it came down to. Talking down to somebody—disrespect.”

Saban gave Foster the same talk he has with all his NFL-bound players. The one about accountability, owning up to your mistakes, and limiting the “buts.”

“The things Reuben has dealt with, these are the kinds of things I never had to deal with growing up,” Saban says. “But it’s the kind of thing a lot of these guys have to overcome to fit in the world everyone expects them to fit in, and I think Reuben has made a lot of progress in that regard.

“When they write up your scouting report, they say ‘and’ when they’re talking about all the good things, and they say ‘but’ when they get to the bad. As soon as you enter the draft, everybody is looking for reasons not to draft you.”

Foster provided one more “but” at the combine. He has five more weeks to win back teams around the NFL, then it’s back to ball.

http://mmqb.si.com/nfl-draft-combine-reuben-foster-alabama-hospital-incident-draft-stock

[|BlackJesus|]

My take ... 

The Good: 

- Violent hitter, runs through people, doesn't show any hesitation

- Started at big time program, leader of dominant defense 

- Alpha dog on the field, has a love for the game

- Head hunter mentality who was #1 National Recruit in HS, so blue chip talent

- The thought of him and Burfict as junkyard dogs wrecking people is enticing

The Bad:

- Questionable maturity with host of red flags and turbulent past, thrown out at combine, present at triple murder, father shot him as a baby then went to prison, broke out, etc. 

- Smaller size at 229 lbs, should bulk back up to 240

- No 40 time on him and no combine drills because of shoulder injury

- Can't diagram plays on the white board, may have a learning disability

- Seems similar to Burfict and PacMan in his emotional impulse control.

[akiliMVP]

Too many red flags for me. Think he washes out of the league pretty quickly.

[PatternMaster]

5 minutes ago, BlackJesus said:

My take ... 

The Good: 

- Violent hitter, runs through people, doesn't show any hesitation

- Started at big time program, leader of dominant defense 

- Alpha dog on the field, has a love for the game

- Head hunter mentality who was #1 National Recruit in HS, so blue chip talent

- The thought of him and Burfict as junkyard dogs wrecking people is enticing

The Bad:

- Questionable maturity with host of red flags and turbulent past, thrown out at combine, present at triple murder, father shot him as a baby then went to prison, broke out, etc. 

- Smaller size at 229 lbs, should bulk back up to 240

- No 40 time on him and no combine drills because of shoulder injury

- Can't diagram plays on the white board, may have learning disability

- Seems similar to Burfict and PacMan in his emotional impulse control.

Wait..what?

This guy has too many red flags and seems very risky for a #9 pick. If struggles to pick up the game plan, control his emotions in pressure situations, and has a serious injury history(shoulder and concussions) then why take him at #9. 

When I see him mocked to the Bengals I think it's just analyst being lazy and recycling what has been said about the pick since day 1, essentially. The Bengals have depth at LB, clearly want to give Vigil every opportunity to succeed by naming him the day 1 starter; so when you consider that and the fact that they signed Minter to a deal for starters money it doesn't seem like a ILB is high on the list for needs. With guys like Flowers, Rey, and Dawson as quality depth so the need for a LB isn't as great as some may think, imo. I would like to see what guys like Flowers, Dawson, and Vigil can do with extended playing time. 

Besides I think we can pick up a LB on the 3rd day without the character and injury concerns that can play a similar style of football. 

[Jason]

Foster is still in my top 2 at 9 (of guys I expect to be available). I just don't think that's the way they go. 

[TimKrumrieFan]

1 hour ago, akiliMVP said:

Too many red flags for me. Think he washes out of the league pretty quickly.

Completely agree and he doesn't create a lot of turnovers. You don't take a LB in the top 15 unless the guy is a turnover machine. He also got to excel beyond a dominant DL and didn't take games over even though he was almost always clean. I genuinely like Vigil more and they drafted Vigil to be the future at LB and he showed much improvement at the end of the year compared to his snaps early in the year. No point in wasting a top 10 pick on a position that is good enough and not relied upon heavily in Marvin's D.

[Jason]

Did you guys listen to the Bengals Beat Podcast this week?  Dehner talked to PFF about the draft.  I know they get mixed reviews around here, but those guys LOVE Foster.  One of the top rated LBs they've had in a while.  

[|BlackJesus|]

8 minutes ago, Jason said:

those guys LOVE Foster.  One of the top rated LBs they've had in a while.  

The only team ahead of the Bengals that I could see taking Foster would be the 49ers at pick #2., as John Lynch is said to really like him after a visit to their facility, and they see him as a Patrick Willis clone.

[UncleEarl]

2 hours ago, akiliMVP said:

Too many red flags for me. Think he washes out of the league pretty quickly.

He would fit right in with Burfict and Jones.  Talented performers that disappoint you at crunch time.

[Jason]

27 minutes ago, UncleEarl said:

He would fit right in with Burfict and Jones.  Talented performers that disappoint you at crunch time.

When has Burfict disappointed at crunch time?  He almost won that game single handedly.  And that penalty was cheese.  Certainly a cleaner hit than the one Shazier had.

[Passepartout]

Seems that there are pros and cons in this. To get him. 

[TimKrumrieFan]

21 minutes ago, Jason said:

When has Burfict disappointed at crunch time?  He almost won that game single handedly.  And that penalty was cheese.  Certainly a cleaner hit than the one Shazier had.

Yeah I'm with you. Burfict has never disappointed in crunch time. Dude is clutch as hell.

[happyrid]

2 hours ago, Jason said:

Did you guys listen to the Bengals Beat Podcast this week?  Dehner talked to PFF about the draft.  I know they get mixed reviews around here, but those guys LOVE Foster.  One of the top rated LBs they've had in a while.  

To their credit, they stay in their lane in terms of just judging the tape and not paying attention to anything else. I buy that he was damn good at Alabama.

But those guys have no idea about his off field issues, ability to quickly grasp an NFL playbook, anger management, injury details, etc. 

[UncleEarl]

2 hours ago, Jason said:

When has Burfict disappointed at crunch time?  He almost won that game single handedly.  And that penalty was cheese.  Certainly a cleaner hit than the one Shazier had.

Take your homer glasses off.  No way that kind of hit goes without a penalty.  Ever.  

Granted Shazier's hit brought us a redefining of a rule, but that's par for the course.  Aren't all dirty hit rules named after Stealers?

[Jason]

1 hour ago, happyrid said:

To their credit, they stay in their lane in terms of just judging the tape and not paying attention to anything else. I buy that he was damn good at Alabama.

But those guys have no idea about his off field issues, ability to quickly grasp an NFL playbook, anger management, injury details, etc. 

Issue.  I only know of 1.  Until someone can specifically cite another one I'm not going to sweat it.

[Le Tigre]

If this guy is at #9...all day, every day. 

[happyrid]

1 hour ago, Jason said:

Issue.  I only know of 1.  Until someone can specifically cite another one I'm not going to sweat it.

He got kicked out of the combine for trying to fight a nurse. 

He was at the scene of a triple homicide and his friends were amongst those doing the shooting. 

I don't know how you don't take comments like these into account as a negative:

 

“He already had immaturity, issues with life skills. This is the same guy,” said an evaluator for the team after Foster was sent home from Indianapolis. “We’re not in the market.”

Saban isn't going to come out and throw one of his high-profile guys under the bus directly. But it doesn't take a whole lot of reading between the lines to hear the warning when he says something like this:

 

I think it’s important that he has people around him who will provide him good direction, have good experience and the ability to anticipate what’s happening, so you don’t get these emotional responses to things that are insignificant.