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Why transfer tight end Tyler Foster sees 'really promising' opportunity at Oklahoma State
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- Why transfer tight end Tyler Foster sees 'really promising' opportunity at Oklahoma State
STILLWATER — As any good host would, Luke McEndoo invited Tyler Foster to his home while Foster was visiting the Oklahoma State campus a couple weeks ago.
While there, Foster met McEndoo's roommate — quarterback Gunnar Gundy .
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Foster was visiting from Ohio University, where he had been a two-year starter at tight end before entering the transfer portal after the season.
When the two met, Gundy — the Oklahoma State backup quarterback and son of head coach Mike Gundy — was packing for his campus visit to Ohio.
A chance meeting in what has become the reality of college football. In the days since, Foster and Gundy essentially traded places, with Foster leaving Ohio for OSU and Gundy doing the reverse.
"I had never met him, but he was packing up to leave for Athens," Foster said of Gundy. "He was telling me about the coaches at OU that he had talked to. He seems like a great kid and a really good player. I think he'll do really good at OU. A lot of the stuff he does fits what OU does."
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New OSU tight end Tyler Foster (86) had nearly 400 yards receiving over the past two seasons as a regular starter at Ohio.
Foster, who grew up just outside Columbus, Ohio, admits he's working to break the habit of referring to Ohio University as OU, now that he's in Bedlam territory where those initials carry a different meaning.
Yet more importantly, he's trying to figure out how he can contribute at OSU, where the 6-foot-7, 249-pound tight end will have an immediate opportunity to compete for a starting job.
He was among a dozen spring enrollees who reported to campus last week and will begin classes Tuesday.
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He and Stillwater High product Josh Ford, who measures 6-foot-6 and 252 pounds, both bring good size to the tight end position, where only Quinton Stewart and Tabry Shettron remain.
Josiah Johnson was the primary tight end in the Cowboy offense, playing nearly 700 snaps and catching 22 passes. Similar to Foster, Johnson spent five seasons at a lower level before transferring to OSU for his super-senior season.
But unlike Foster, Johnson wasn't always a tight end. He began his UMass career at quarterback before changing positions after a couple years .
Foster, on the other hand, was a second-team All-State selection as a tight end at Pickerington North High School and played significantly throughout his Ohio career in an offense that relies heavily on his position.
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In fact, that leads to one of the reasons Foster is excited to see what kind of impact he can make with the Cowboys.
More: 'He is class': New Oklahoma State DL coach Paul Randolph brings experience, character
Ohio tight end Tyler Foster (86) catches a touchdown over Iowa State defensive back Anthony Johnson Jr. (1) during the second half of the Cyclones' 43-10 win on Sept. 17, 2022, in Ames, Iowa.
"There are a lot of commonalities that the tight end role shares between the two teams," Foster said. "One thing I'm excited about — at Ohio, the more I played against teams, the more they had an opportunity to game plan against my position. The other tight end I was at Ohio with, he just committed to Ohio State .
"We were a pretty big part of that offense. But now, being in an offense with a ton of explosive playmakers — Brennan Presley , Ollie Gordon, Rashod (Owens) and the other receivers — it'll be really cool to have a bunch of really explosive guys take the focus off of our position."
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The 22-year-old Foster earned his bachelor's degree from Ohio last month in business administration with a double-major in sports administration and analytics. He had communicated with coach Tim Albin his plan to enter the portal after the Bobcats ' bowl Dec. 16 game.
At that point, OSU tight ends coach Jason McEndoo was the first to reach out with an offer.
"I talked to Coach Gundy on the phone a few times," Foster said. "That was the first visit I planned, because they seemed the most serious about me."
Ahead of Foster's campus visit, McEndoo provided game tape to show how the Cowboys used the tight end in 2023, and he put Foster in touch with Johnson to discuss the position further.
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"We had a pretty in-depth conversation about all the stuff he did," Foster said of Johnson. "Then he pulled all sorts of (Pro Football Focus) numbers, snap counts, run-pass ratios, everything you could think of to show me what direction that offense is trending in terms of using the tight end.
"It looked really promising."
Duke and West Virginia were among the other early offers Foster received, and on the day he committed to OSU, he heard from South Carolina , Louisville and Colorado . But he was set on his decision.
"I love the campus, love all the people there," he said. "It feels a lot like Athens, in terms of a college town vibe, but much better football, a lot more resources."
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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State football TE Tyler Foster sees 'really promising' future
