UVA gets commitment from hard-running Georgia rusher Foston

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Virginia’s football coaching staff is out on the recruiting trail, but the latest commitment came while they were back home in Charlottesville last weekend.

Amaad Foston, one of the top running back prospects in the state of Georgia, said a few weeks ago that he was looking for a connection and a brotherhood feeling, somewhere that he would be comfortable. After visiting UVA for “Junior Day,” Foston found that feeling and committed to the Cavaliers for the Class of 2021.

A 6-foot, 205-pound power runner from John Milledge Academy in Milledgeville, Ga., Foston was gaining national popularity with offers from Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, South Carolina and Boston College. He had already visited Penn State and Georgia.

Foston, who also owns a 3.8 GPA in the classroom, has put together back-to-back 2,000-yard plus seasons rushing. This past season alone, he posted 2,349 yards on the ground and a school-record 38 touchdowns, while leading his school to an unbeaten season and the Georgia Class AAA state championship.

He’s rated a three-star (same as Clemson’s Travis Etienne) and the No. 30 running back in the country by Rivals, a number that will likely rise in time.

I am proud to announce that I am Committed to the University of Virginia!!
Please respect my decision@UVACoachBronco@UVACoachAtuaia@UVAFootball pic.twitter.com/IlvJa3dtoH

— amaadF20 (@AmaadFoston) January 20, 2020

Milledge Academy offensive coordinator J.T. Wall said that nothing Foston does really surprises him anymore.

“He’s gotten to the point where he’ll work on a move during the weekend to put something else in his toolbox, and he’ll do it in a game — like a jump cut or a stiff arm — and he doesn’t even know he’s done it at the time,” Wall told Gil Pound of the Union Recorder. “He works on stuff so much that it’s almost second nature. He’s the complete package. He gets better and better not only each year, but each day. He’s a hard worker who deserves everything he gets.”

Foston said that he’s not satisfied with where his game is right now and promised there’s “a lot more to come and there’s a lot more things I can do on the football field.”

One of the things he wants to add to his repertoire is to become a more productive pass receiver. While opposing defenses continue to stack the tackle box in a futile attempt to shut him down, he believes adding the passing game to his resume will make him and his offense more difficult to stop.

He caught only five passes last season for 89 yards.

“His hands out of the backfield are probably the one thing we don’t utilize enough,” Wall said. “We put him at receiver during some 7-on-7 stuff this summer and he made some unbelievable catches.”

Foston has become a vocal leader on the team, and he also blew his coaches away in the state championship game when he carried the ball 42 times for 423 yards and eight touchdowns. The Georgia High School Association doesn’t keep records, but Foston’s performance was believed to be the top performance by a running back in a state championship game.

At halftime of that title game, Foston had 29 carries and Wall asked him if he was good for the second half.

Foston didn’t blink.

“Coach, you’ve got to feed me tonight,” Wall said was Foston’s reply.

The team went on to claim a 62-19 win.

Foston is UVA’s second commitment for the ‘21 class, joining Richmond (Benedictine H.S.) dual-threat quarterback Jay Woolfolk.