Arian Foster Arian Isa Foster ( born August 24 , 1986 ) is an American football running back for the Houston Texans of the National Football League ( NFL ) . He played college football for the University of Tennessee . He was signed by the Texans as an undrafted free agent in 2009 , and was added to their active roster from the practice squad on November 17 , 2009 . Foster is known for his vision to find rushing lanes and his signature Namaste bow , which he frequently performs after scoring touchdowns . Foster holds the Texans franchise records for rushing yards and rushing touchdowns . He is considered to be one of the best running backs in the NFL . Early years . Foster was born August 24 , 1986 in Albuquerque , New Mexico , to Carl Foster , a former wide receiver for the University of New Mexico , and Bernadette Sizemore , an administrative assistant for the university . Foster competed in football during his freshman and sophomore years at Valley High School in Albuquerque , New Mexico . His parents divorced in 2000 , and in 2002 he moved to San Diego , to be with his father . Foster competed in football at Mission Bay Senior High School , where he initially played as a linebacker , but became a full - time running back in his senior year . He was Mission Bay ' s featured running back that year , and led San Diego County in all - purpose yards with 2 , 500 while compiling 2 , 093 rushing yards and 24 touchdowns in addition to six scores on kickoff returns . In a game against Clairemont , Foster ran for 321 yards and for his efforts , he was named " San Diego Union Tribune " All - San Diego Western League Player of the Year , received All - West Region appointment by PrepStar , and also earned All - California Interscholastic Federation honors . Then - Tennessee offensive coordinator Randy Sanders and running backs coach Trooper Taylor were impressed by Foster when recruiting in San Diego . Foster chose to attend Tennessee and was part of the 2004 signing class . High School statistics . " Source : " " Note : Incomplete " College career . Foster red - shirted his first season as a University of Tennessee Volunteer , sitting behind Gerald Riggs Jr . and Cedric Houston on the depth chart . He was a three - year starter at running back for Tennessee . In his 2005 freshman season , Foster earned the starting job following an injury to Riggs . Foster rushed for 879 yards in his limited action , including a commanding 223 - yard performance against Vanderbilt . Foster scored two touchdowns in the game , and his total of 268 all - purpose yards was the third - highest total in school history . His sophomore season of 2006 saw a slight downturn in production , as Foster was limited for the majority of the season with injuries and missed games against Marshall and Memphis . Splitting time with LaMarcus Coker after returning from injury , Foster ended the season with just 322 rushing yards . Tennessee ' s final game of the season was the 2007 Outback Bowl , in which Foster fumbled with ten minutes remaining deep in Penn State territory . The ball was picked up by cornerback Tony Davis and returned 88 yards for a touchdown , breaking a 10 – 10 tie and providing the winning points in Penn State ' s 20 – 10 victory . On November 4 , 2006 , Foster and two reserve players were arrested following a fight in a night club and were charged with disorderly conduct and underage consumption . His junior season of 2007 saw Foster take over as the main back , with Montario Hardesty coming in as a substitute . Against Florida , Foster fumbled a left - handed hand - off from injured quarterback Erik Ainge which was recovered by Gators linebacker Dustin Doe and returned eighteen yards for a touchdown . Up to that point Tennessee had been gaining momentum and pulled to within eight points of tying the game , but the botched play made the score 35 – 20 and triggered a 24 - point Florida run to close out the contest . Foster surpassed the 1 , 000 - yard mark with a 118 - yard performance in a 52 – 50 win at Kentucky , and finished his junior season with 245 carries for 1 , 193 yards and 12 touchdowns , while also catching 39 passes for 340 yards and an additional two scores . Foster ' s breakout junior season resulted in a second - round grade from the draft advisory board and led him to consider leaving school . However , head coach Phillip Fulmer persuaded him to stay for his senior season , a decision Foster would later deeply regret . Playing under the third position coach and offensive coordinator of his tenure , Foster was utilized in a rotation following the installation of a new offensive scheme that the Tennessee coaches thought was a better fit for some of the other running backs on the roster . For his part , Fulmer would attribute Foster ' s diminished workload to knee and thigh injuries which would later be disputed . In the end , Foster compiled just 570 yards on 131 carries with only one touchdown in his senior season . Foster ' s subpar senior campaign caused his draft stock to plummet , as well as scouts ' concerns about his below - average pass - blocking , issues with ball security and the less - than - stellar reviews from Tennessee staff members that portrayed him as selfish and hard to coach . A pulled hamstring also prevented Foster from working out at the NFL Scouting Combine , then he had a poor showing at Tennessee ' s Pro Day when he registered a 4 . 71 40 - yard dash , 4 . 50 short shuttle , 32 - inch vertical leap and 9 ′ 7 ″ broad jump . The combination of factors led to Foster being undrafted at the 2009 NFL Draft ; after several teams showed interest in him as a rookie free agent , he chose to sign a contract with the Houston Texans in May 2009 because he thought the situation suited him . Foster finished his collegiate career as Tennessee ' s second all - time leading rusher with 2 , 964 yards , just 114 behind Travis Henry . His legacy , however , was mixed . He fumbled just five times on a school - record 650 carries , but all of his drops came at critical moments , including fumbles in both 2006 Penn State games , one against Florida in 2007 , and against UCLA and Auburn in 2008 . His former coach Fulmer has defended Foster , saying " There were a couple of fumbles that were untimely that people want to remember ; they forget about his full career , about how special he was . He had a couple after a couple of big runs . They were costly , but we probably wouldn ' t have been there without him . " College statistics . " Source : " Professional career . 2009 NFL Draft . Foster ranked 24th among running backs available in the 2009 NFL Draft , according to " Sports Illustrated " . Although projected as a fifth - to - sixth rounder , Foster went undrafted . Foster was signed by the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent on May 1 , 2009 . He was later released on September 5 , 2009 , but then was signed to the Texans ' practice squad on September 6 and signed to the active roster on November 17 . Foster made his NFL debut against the Tennessee Titans on November 23 , 2009 and played on special teams . He scored his first NFL career touchdown against the Miami Dolphins in Miami on December 27 , 2009 on a 17 - yard run up the middle in the second quarter of the game . Foster then made his first career start against the New England Patriots on January 3 , 2010 and posted his first career 100 - yard game , rushing for 119 yards and scoring twice on 20 carries . Houston Texans . Overall Foster played 6 games , starting in only 1 , during the 2009 season finishing with 257 yards and 3 touchdowns . On opening day in 2010 , September 12 , Houston played the Indianapolis Colts . Foster replaced Steve Slaton , the 2009 starting running back , and broke many franchise records , rushing 33 times for 231 yards and 3 touchdowns . In addition to breaking the record for the most rushing yards by a player of the Houston Texans in a single game , he and Slaton combined for 260 rushing yards , well over the team record for most total in a game , and also the most rushing yards given up to a single player by the Indianapolis Colts . Foster also posted the second - highest NFL opening day rushing total , trailing only O . J . Simpson ' s 250 yards in 1973 . During week 4 on October 3 vs . the Oakland Raiders after being benched for the 1st quarter , Foster recorded the longest run in Texans franchise history when he scored on a 74 yard touchdown run in the 3rd quarter to break a 14 – 14 tie . Houston went on to win 31 – 24 behind Foster ' s 187 yards from scrimmage . After being passed up in rushing yards by Jamaal Charles during the Chiefs last game of the regular season , Foster posted another stunning performance rushing for 180 yards and 2 TD to solidify his spot as the 2010 rushing leader . Foster finished the 2010 season by winning the rushing title with 1 , 616 Rushing yards and 604 receiving yards breaking the record set by Priest Holmes for most yards from scrimmage ever by an undrafted player . He was invited to the 2011 Pro Bowl , which was his first Pro Bowl . Foster strained his hamstring twice during the 2011 preseason – at one point creating controversy due to his tweeting of an MRI image of the damaged tendon – resulting in his missing the Texans ' opening day game versus the Colts . Foster returned in Week 2 against the Miami Dolphins , but after carrying the ball ten times for 33 rushing yards in the first half he missed the remainder of the game due to a re - aggravation of the hamstring . Foster missed Houston ' s Week 3 game at New Orleans , but returned to face the Pittsburgh Steelers the following Sunday . Against Pittsburgh Foster ran the ball 30 times for 155 yards , including a 42 - yard fourth - quarter touchdown run that proved to be the winning points in the Texans ' 17 – 10 victory . In what was his tenth career 100 - yard game , Foster ' s total of 155 yards was the second - most by a running back against the Steelers defense since 2001 and the most since Curtis Martin tallied 174 versus Pittsburgh in December 2003 . Additionally , his 42 - yard touchdown was the longest scoring run allowed by the Steelers since 2006 . The Texans squared off with the Raiders in Houston in Week 5 , just a day after legendary Raiders owner Al Davis passed away . Foster had a tough time generating yards on the ground , tallying just 68 yards on 22 carries . It was as a pass - catcher that Foster shined against Oakland , catching five balls for 116 yards , including a career - long 60 - yard reception in the third quarter . A last - minute rally by Houston fell short when quarterback Matt Schaub was intercepted in the end zone as Houston fell , 25 – 20 . In Week 6 , the Baltimore Raven ' s stout defense proved a challenge for Foster as he was limited to just 49 yards on 15 carries in a decisive 29 – 14 loss . Foster continued to contribute in the passing game , however , catching six passes for 52 yards in the losing effort . Foster exploded in Week 7 against the Tennessee Titans , rushing for 115 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries while accumulating 119 yards receiving and another touchdown on five catches . This helped the Texans en route to a 41 – 7 victory over their division foe and established them as the division leader ; Foster ' s 234 total yards fell just short of his personal best of 238 , which he registered on Opening Day of the 2010 season versus Indianapolis . Foster followed up his career - day against Tennessee with a solid performance against the Jacksonville Jaguars . In a tough , ball - control type of game , Foster equaled his career - high in rushing attempts with 33 , totaling 112 yards on the ground . In a nod to Foster ' s prolific pass - catching in recent weeks , the Jaguars limited Foster to just one catch for 12 yards out of the backfield in Houston ' s 24 – 14 victory . He was invited to the 2012 Pro Bowl , which was his second Pro Bowl invite . On March 5 the Texans reportedly reached a deal with Foster , worth up to $ 43 . 5 million over 5 years . On October 8 , in a Monday Night Football game against the New York Jets , Foster reached 5 , 000 yards from scrimmage ( rushing yards + receiving yards ) in his 40th game , becoming the third - fastest player to reach 5 , 000 yards to do so , only behind Edgerrin James ( 36 games ) and Eric Dickerson ( 39 games ) . On December 23 against the Minnesota Vikings , Foster left the game in the third quarter with an irregular heartbeat . Foster was announced the starting Running Back in the AFC Division for the 2013 Pro Bowl . This is the 3rd Pro Bowl he will be invited to . Career stats . " Source : " Personal life . As was documented on ESPN ' s " Sunday NFL Countdown " , Foster was a philosophy major at the University of Tennessee and is an avid writer of poetry . Foster ' s first name is an abbreviated form of Aquarian , which means " water bearer , " or ( according to his father ) " holder of knowledge . " Foster is of African American and Mexican American heritage . The Sporting News called Foster , “ The most interesting man in the NFL . ” When not at practice , Arian can be found working out with his personal trainer and brother , Abdul ; spending time with his wife , Romina and daughter Zeniah ; trying to straighten out his 300 + yard drives or volunteering with one of the many charities he supports including The Boys and Girls Clubs and “ A Crucial Catch , ” a program of the American Cancer Society dedicated to early detection of breast cancer . Arian became a vegan in July of 2012 . He tweeted the following statement , " Officially a vegan now . . . Feels wonderful . " In November 2012 , he revealed that he still eats meat from time to time but mostly wants to stay on plant based foods . Foster revealed he is an atheist on Dan Lebatard is Highly Questionable . He also guest - starred on Hawaii Five - 0 Season 3 Episode 17 aired on February 18 , 2013 .