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Foster Motivated By Fumbles

Cliff McBride/Tribune photo

Tennessee quarterback Eric Ainge (1) and teammates warm up at practice in preparation for their game against Wisconsin in the Outback Bowl on Jan. 1. Tennessee was practicing at the University of Tampa.

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 27, 2007

Updated: 12/27/2007 08:56 pm

Tennessee junior RB Arian Foster had a sour taste in his mouth after last year's Outback Bowl, and for good reason. Foster lost two fumbles in the game that led to 10 Penn State points, the difference in a 20-10 Vols setback.

But Foster found a way to turn a negative into a positive. He used that uneventful day as motivation for this season.

It's safe to say it worked. Foster turned in a career year in 2007 to help the Vols make a return trip to Tampa, where they'll face Wisconsin on New Year's Day.

Foster became the first Vols back since Gerald Riggs Jr. in 2004 to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark for the season, and has a chance to break the program's all-time mark for all-purpose yards in a season. With 1,593 all-purpose yards (1,162 rushing, 314 receiving, 117 kickoff returns), Foster is only 129 shy of breaking former Vols standout and former Buc Reggie Cobb's mark of 1,721 set in 1987.

Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer on Wednesday said Foster was probably "quite under-appreciated" outside of the Vols circle, considering Foster's lack of notoriety on a national scale compared to his contributions to the Vols. On Thursday, Foster tried his best to describe where he feels he stands in the country's pecking order of running backs.

"I feel like I'm productive," Foster said. "I've tried to hone every element of my game - blocking, catching, running. I've tried to be the most complete back out there, and I feel like I'm one of the top of the complete backs out there."

LB SHUFFLE: Fulmer said LB Ryan Karl's (elbow) return to practice Wednesday didn't go quite as he expected and indicated if the senior is unable to play against Wisconsin that his linebackers corps could again be tweaked, with Jerod Mayo staying in the middle, Ellix Wilson moving to the strongside and Dorian Davis starting at weakside linebacker.

Fulmer had indicated prior to Wednesday's practice he was entertaining the possibility of having Mayo (WLB), Wilson (MLB) and Karl (SLB) as his starting linebackers. Fulmer noted he'd likely have a better indication today after watching Karl's progress Thursday.

DID YOU KNOW: Tennessee has a bit of history with the school hosting its practices during the bowl week, the University of Tampa. The Volunteers and Spartans squared off on the gridiron in 1967 in the first football game hosted by Tampa Stadium.

Tennessee, which owns a 3-1 record all-time in Tampa, won the game 38-0.

Adam Adkins

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