ADVERTISEMENT

Derrick Foster named as Iowa's 10th assistant coach

Apr 8, 2003
111,247
248,852
113
DERRICK FOSTER NAMED TO IOWA FOOTBALL STAFF

IOWA CITY, Iowa - - Derrick Foster has been added to the University of Iowa football staff as its 10th assistant coach, head coach Kirk Ferentz announced Tuesday.

Foster joins the Iowa staff after serving the last two seasons as running backs coach and running game coordinator at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. He has coached wide receivers and running backs at Tennessee, Northwestern State University, and Valdosta State University.

“Derrick is an outstanding person and has built an impressive resume with experience at multiple levels of college football,” said Ferentz. “He has an impressive record of success on the recruiting trail that will strengthen and expand our existing efforts.”

“My wife, Bianca, and I are excited to be afforded this wonderful opportunity to become a part of the Iowa family as well as the Iowa City community,” said Foster. “Our journey is continuing, as this provides us with the opportunity to be part of a great staff and a University that is committed to excellence. I have a lot of respect for the stability and commitment of coach Ferentz and his longevity with the program. I feel fortunate and look forward to working with coach Ferentz and his dedicated staff.”

“Our goal was to use this additional coaching position to help us in multiple areas, and we did that,” said Ferentz. “We gained Derrickas a coach, we bolstered our recruiting capabilities, and we strengthened our commitment to special teams by allowing LeVar Woods to focus entirely on a significant phase of our game.”

Foster joined the Samford staff from Northwestern State University in Louisiana, where he coached running backs in 2013 and wide receivers in 2014 and 2015. While at Northwestern State, Foster tutored some of the top receivers in program history.

Under Foster’s tutelage, Ed Eagan set the school single-season receptions record with 73, including single-game marks of 13 catches and 238 receiving yards. Foster was instrumental in helping Bryant Mitchell make his way to the Canadian Football League’s Edmonton Eskimos and guided Cody Jones to a productive junior campaign in Jones’ second season as a full-time wide receiver.

Foster was an assistant coach at Tennessee in 2012, assisting the offensive coordinator and assisting as running backs coach. The Volunteers finished third in the Southeastern Conference in total offense with 5,711 yards. He held office recruiting duties for junior colleges in California, Texas, Kansas, New York, Arizona, and Illinois.

Foster’s coaching career began at Valdosta State in 2011, where he assisted head coach David Dean, and offensive coordinator Robby Brown, while working with the punt and return teams. He worked with wide receivers and helped produce an All-Gulf South Conference selection; he coached Seantavius Jones, now a receiver with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Foster was a three-year starting receiver at Southwest Baptist College in Missouri, where he produced a record-shattering 2007 campaign. He ranked sixth in the conference with 44 catches in 2007. Foster played in 41 of 44 games and had 93 career receptions. As a prep, he was a 1,000-yard rusher at Goshen (Alabama) High School, where he was an All-County running back.

Foster is a native of Goshen, Alabama. He earned a bachelor’s degree in sport management from Southwest Baptist in 2010 and a master’s in public administration from Valdosta State University in 2013. Foster is married to the former Bianca Cooper.

Foster’s hiring comes as a result of the NCAA allowing FBS programs to add a 10th fulltime assistant. Foster will coach on the offensive side of the ball, allowing LeVar Woods to spend more attention to special teams. Specific coaching assignments will be announced later.

Iowa football has posted back-to-back eight-win seasons and a 28-12 record over the past three campaigns. The Hawkeyes closed the 2017 season with a 27-20 win over Boston College in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl.
 
  • Like
Reactions: VicHawkeye
So is the presumption that he'll take care of coaching RBs and Brian will take over at TE ... or will he take over coaching TEs and Brian will continue working with the RBs?

Either way, Woods is moving over to special teams on a full-time basis.
 
Anybody know where he played college ball? Seems like I remember a Derek Foster as a linebacker at Fla. St.
 
Sounds like a great hire and a great addition



WELCOME TO THE HAWKEYE FAMILY
 
Didn't even read the article before I was saying in my head this dude sounds like an Alabama/mississippi type of name lol
 
Would rather have seen that he was recruiting for SEC schools than FCS ones.

Iowa's not going to beat SEC schools for kids from the south. They want to find the 'diamonds in the rough' that would otherwise blow up at the smaller southern schools they might land at. So while it might be nice if Foster was at an SEC school, he nonetheless was recruiting the area and developing relationships with coaches
 
Pretty interesting his coaching career only started in 2011. What's his connection to Iowa? Wasn't there an assistant that came from or went to Valdosta State a few years back? Is that it?
 
Ten Assistant Coaches now is the new norm. College
football is the cash cow of every major university today.
We will someday see that number increased to 12 or 14.
There is still a need for personal tutors for the classroom,
It is possible that football players will need financial advisers
to help them consider when to declare for the NFL draft.
 
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT