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It’s bee a season that hasn’t gone as planned for Lovie Smith and Illinois. The expectations may not have been extraordinarily high for this program in 2016, but a 3-7 record leaves something to be desired.
Amidst the disappointment though, the Illini have had a diamond in the rough. It’s been 5-foot-9 junior running back Kendrick Foster.
Not only has Foster been a bright spot for a struggling Illinois offense that has been hindered by injuries this season, he’s doing something that nobody else in college football is currently doing.
That’s right, according to the Illinois football Twitter account, Foster is the only player in the sport to post more than 600 yards rushing and more than 500 yards in kick returns:
Fun Fact: #Illini RB @KFos_25 is only player in FBS with 600+ rush yds AND 500+ kick ret yds (671 rush, 524 KOR)
➡️ https://t.co/i8D64lF36W pic.twitter.com/en9zjt2Zeu
— Illinois Football (@IlliniFootball) November 15, 2016
Foster’s top performance came in a win over Michigan State when he rushed for a career-high 146 yards and scored two TDs. In September, the junior returned five kicks against Western Michigan for 131 yards, an average of over 26 yards per return.
After 11 weeks, Foster ranks 13th in the B1G in rushing yardage and third in kick return yardage. He’s totaled nine TDs this year, as well.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB