Otha Foster III (born September 27, 1988) is an American former professional

gridiron football Gridiron football,"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Ret ...

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at West Alabama. He has been a member of the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

and

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

of the NFL, and the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 1 ...

and

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first season ...

of the CFL.

College career

Foster played for two years at

Pearl River Community College Pearl River Community College is a public community college in Poplarville, Mississippi. It was founded as Pearl River County Agricultural High School in 1909 and became the first junior college in Mississippi in 1921. Residents of Hancock, F ...

during 2009 and 2010. He then transferred to the

University of West Alabama The University of West Alabama (UWA) is a public university in Livingston, Alabama. Founded in 1835, the school began as a church-supported school for young women called Livingston Female Academy. The original Board of Trustees of Livingston F ...

where he completed his college career in 2011 and 2012, where his career record included 96 tackles, 16 pass deflections and 10 interceptions.

Professional career

Kansas City Chiefs

In May 2013, Foster signed with the

of the NFL, as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

He played three preseason games with the Chiefs before being cut from the team.

Toronto Argonauts

He then moved to the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

, signing with the

from whom he was acquired by the

in 2014. He was traded to Edmonton from Toronto on May 13, 2014, along with Toronto's first and second round picks (6th and 15th overall) in the 2014 CFL Canadian Draft, import offensive lineman Tony Washington and a negotiation list player, in exchange for Edmonton's first and third round picks (3rd and 21st overall) in the 2014 CFL Canadian Draft and a negotiation list player.

Edmonton Eskimos

After being traded to the Eskimos Foster became an immediate starter, and played in 16 games in the 2014 season. Foster recorded 46 defensive tackles, five special teams tackles, five pass knockdowns, one interception, one sack, one fumble recovery and one forced fumble. In the Labour Day Classic, Foster recovered a blocked punt by Willie Jefferson and scored a 57-yard touchdown. In the West Semi-final against Saskatchewan, Foster recorded one defensive tackle. In the West Final against Calgary, he recorded two defensive tackles. Foster continued his strong play in the 2015 season, contributing 57 tackles, 2 special teams tackles, 2 sacks, 1 interception, 1 forced fumble and 1 defensive touchdown.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

On February 10, 2016, Foster signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

with the

of the CFL. Foster had his best statistical season in 2016 playing in all 18 regular season games and racking up 71 tackles and 3 quarterback sacks. Set to become a

free-agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in February 2017, Foster had a workout with the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

In December 2016. On January 20, 2017, Foster had a workout with the

. On January 27, 2017, a couple weeks before becoming a free agent, Foster was released by the Riders so he could pursue NFL opportunities.

Baltimore Ravens

On January 31, 2017, Foster signed a reserve/future contract with the

. He was waived on September 1, 2017, during final roster cutdowns.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

He signed with Saskatchewan in September 2017.

BC Lions

Foster signed with the

on February 14, 2018.

Personal life

Foster joined the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

in 2007 after he was

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

Southern University Southern University and A&M College (Southern University, Southern, SUBR or SU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It is the largest historically black college or university (HBCU) in Louisiana, a ...

, attending basic training at

Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island (often abbreviated as MCRD PI) is an military installation located within Port Royal, South Carolina, approximately south of Beaufort, the community that is typically associated with the installation. ...

and becoming a communications expert. He served in the Marines while playing football for two years at Pearl River Community College. He is the father of three children, Olavia K. Foster, born on April 16, 2010. He is also the father of Otha Foster IV, and Oakley Delores.Otha Foster Foster's Mother is Valerie Lee Foster Aikens. Foster's father, Otha Foster Jr., died January 9, 2010, after being a disabled dialysis patient for 19 years. Foster III was the main caregiver for his father since the age of eight. Even though Foster Jr. was on dialysis, he still managed to coach Foster III's little league football team. He lived to see him play JUCO, but he died at the age of 43, during Christmas break, before Foster III started at West Alabama.

References

External links

BC Lions bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Otha Living people 1988 births American football defensive backs Canadian football defensive backs Players of Canadian football from Louisiana Pearl River Wildcats football players People from Washington Parish, Louisiana Players of American football from Louisiana West Alabama Tigers football players Toronto Argonauts players Edmonton Elks players Saskatchewan Roughriders players Baltimore Ravens players BC Lions players