We're just over a week from watching Arizona State play its first snaps of the 2025-26 college football season when Northern Arizona visits Tempe on Aug. 30. Yesterday in our countdown, we brought you the story of transfer diamond Robert Nelson.
Today, we're going to talk about running back D.J. Foster and the lasting legacy he continues to leave on ASU to this day.
Foster played four seasons in Tempe from 2012-15, landing with the program as a four-star recruit out of Saguaro High School in Scottsdale. He set a state high school record with 60 rushing touchdowns as a senior, catching the eye of then-head coach Todd Graham.
Foster accrued 2,355 total rushing yards and scored 17 touchdowns across his four seasons as a Sun Devil, but it should be noted he had to sit behind Marion Guice for two of those years. He also switched to wide receiver for his senior year in 2015, racking up 2,458 yards and 11 scores on 222 catches during his college career. Foster scored the team's only two touchdowns during the 2013 Pac-12 Championship loss to Stanford.
D.J. Foster continues to give back to ASU after playing career
In 2016, Foster went undrafted but signed as a rookie free agent with the New England Patriots. He went back and forth from the active roster and the practice squad that year but can say he was a member of the team when it miraculously won Super Bowl LI. He was not an active player for that game.
Foster was released from New England in 2017 but he landed back in the desert with the Arizona Cardinals. He appeared in seven games and caught 17 balls for 133 yards. His next three seasons were plagued with injuries and he eventually became a free agent after the 2020 campaign.
Foster finished his playing career in the Canadian Football League where he logged 82 carries for 332 yards and two touchdowns in 10 games for the Toronto Argonauts. He was released in 2022 and from there returned to the Valley where he now serves as manager for player development at ASU.
Words can’t explain how excited I am being back in the building! I can’t wait to help these young men grow and be a resource for them in this pivotal moment of their lives. As well as connecting ASU alumni getting them back around the program. #Activatethevalley #SunDevil4life pic.twitter.com/Ingad3X46h
— D.J. Foster (@ASTATE_8) January 18, 2023
"Words can’t explain how excited I am being back in the building!” Foster said in a social media post announcing his hiring in 2023. “I can’t wait to help these young men grow and be a resource for them in this pivotal moment of their lives. As well as connecting ASU alumni getting them back around the program.”
From being the highest-rated Arizona prospect to sign with ASU in 2012 to now helping head coach Kenny Dillingham "Activate the Valley" in this new era, D.J. Foster clearly exemplifies what it means to be a Sun Devil for life.