Reuben Foster
Linebacker| Alabama| Senior
Height:6-foot | Weight: 229 pounds
College Stats
2016: totaled 115 tackles (60 solo) with 13 tackles for loss and added 5.0 sacks; Butkus Award winner as nation's best linebacker; unanimous First Team All-American; finalist for Nagurski Award; earned unanimous First-Team All-SEC honors; helped Alabama reach College Football Playoff national title game as the Crimson Tide defense led the nation in rush defense (63.9 yards per game) and scoring defense (13.0 points per game)
Career: totaled 222 total tackles (123 solo) with 23 tackles for loss and 8.0 sacks; played in 50 career games; took over starting role as linebacker before junior season; helped Alabama reach two consecutive College Football Playoff national title games, winning one of them
Combine Results
None (did not participate in any drills)
Profile
Summary:Foster was sent home early from the 2017 NFL Scouting Combine after an incident at an Indianapolis hospital. He was a highly productive player at Alabama in two years as a starter, helping the Crimson Tide reach two straight national championship games as the leader of their defense.
Lance Zierlein of NFL.com said Foster has an "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."
Stacking up: Foster is the consensus top linebacker in the draft. NFL Media analysts Mike Mayock and Bucky Brooks both had Foster listed as the No. 1 linebacker both before and after the combine. Brooks made separate groups for inside (Foster) and outside linebackers, but Mayock did not. Chris Burke of *Sports Illustrated *also listed Foster as his top linebacker. Daniel Jeremiah lists Foster as the ninth-best overall prospect.
Stuffing the box: Foster had 94 tackles against the run in 2016, a stat that led Alabama's stout defense.
