Eric Foster is used to playing the role of the underdog.
Nothing in his football career was ever handed to him on silver platter. He is not blessed with great size, speed or natural talent, yet the former Rutgers football team standout "kept choppin'" through adversity from the high school level all the way to his current position as the starting defensive tackle for the Indianapolis Colts.
"That's just a tribute to him," Rutgers senior safety and former teammate Courtney Greene said. "I was happy to see him out there. It was kind of funny watching him out there in white and blue instead of red."
Voted a defensive captain by his teammates before his junior year, Foster had a decorated career on the Banks. He earned All-Big East first team honors in 2006 and 2007, and was a preseason All-America list prior to his senior season.
But everything he got, he had to earn.
Foster was just a two-star recruit coming out of high school in southern Florida, as rated by both Rivals.com and Scout.com. Thought too slow to play linebacker and too small to be disruptive on the defensive line, Foster chose Rutgers after failing to receive an offer from either Iowa State or LSU.
Head coach Greg Schiano recruited him hard, envisioning him as a defensive end, which is where he played in all 11 games as a true freshman. Visions of sacks and success danced before his eyes when he earned a starting spot before his sophomore season. But in the second game of the year, Foster went down with a knee injury for the rest of the year. It was a humbling moment, and it pained Foster inside.
"Right after my injury, I went into a slump," he told ScarletKnights.com that year. "I was like a turtle going into his shell. I didn't want to be around anyone because that was the hardest I had ever worked in an off-season. I was down on myself."
With the help of Schiano and the coaching staff, Foster came back with a vengeance in 2006 and had the best season of his Knights career. It was no coincidence that as Foster emerged as a leader both on and off the field, Rutgers enjoyed its best season since 1976, finishing 11-2 with a victory in the Texas Bowl.
Foster's energy and vocal leadership was on display all year long. After just a couple of games, he coined Schiano's "keep choppin'" motto into a marketable catchphrase, and the team followed Foster's lead of making the chopping motion before and after key defensive plays.
"I don't know what it is, but 'keep choppin'' gives us some type of energy that is inside of us that nothing else brings out," Foster said in 2006."
Despite a lesser than expected performance as a senior in 2007, Foster readied himself for a possible career in the NFL. But at Rutgers' Pro Combine, Foster came up lame with an injury and was forced to stop participating after just a few drills.
"I've always been a fighter, always believed in perseverance," Foster said. "When I got injured at my pro day, in addition to not being invited to the NFL combine, that kind of put fuel to my fire."
The adversity came back to haunt him, as did many of the questions that were raised when Foster was in high school and being scouted by collegiate programs. Would he be durable enough? Isn't he too small? Is he quick enough?
Ultimately, the NFL draft came and went, and Foster's phone did not ring. As teammates Ray Rice and Jeremy Zuttah were elected in the second and third rounds, respectively, Foster was left waiting. But not for long.
The call came from the Indianapolis Colts on the second day of the draft, who informed Foster that they would sign him as a free agent and he would be given the opportunity to earn a roster spot in training camp.
"I think it was a blessing in disguise," Foster said. "As much as I wanted to get drafted, toward the later rounds of the draft, I was hoping that I didn't get drafted so I could come to the Colts."
The Colts had flown Foster in for a private workout in the weeks leading to Rutgers' Pro Day, and Foster made the most of it.
"I think for the most part they saw I could come in contribute to the team although I was undersized," Foster said. "Speed and quickness I could use as my advantage, and they like lighter D-linemen that can move. I think they saw that I could rush the passer and apply some more pressure on the quarterback from the inside."
His size proved to be irrelevant, since the Colts' scheme is much like that of Rutgers'.
The regular season roster is something very few undrafted free agents even get the chance to sniff. But Foster, as he has done throughout his football career, kept pushing.
"He said everybody is a great player," senior defensive end and close friend Jamaal Westerman said. "He has to pay a lot more attention to details because things you can get away with in college you can't get away with in the NFL."
Foster was one of four undrafted free agents to make the Colts' opening day roster.
By week two, his "blessing in disguise" came full circle when starting defensive tackle Ed Johnson was cut after an arrest. Though Foster did not want to see a teammate leave in that fashion, he had to quickly put those thoughts in the back of his mind. He was announced the starter for the next game and remains the Colts starting defensive tackle to this day.
Undersized yet undeterred, Foster moved past adversity throughout his career. Now Foster is doing what he has done since his arrival in Piscataway five years ago: earning it every step of the way.
"He's been blessed," Westerman said. "He's getting opportunities, and he just capitalized on the opportunities he was given."
In Foster's own words, he just kept choppin'.
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