Sean Foster, a 6-foot-8, 285-pound tackle from Mundelein (IL) Carmel Catholic, became the sixth player to commit to Minnesota from the Class of 2016.
Sean Foster, a 6-foot-8, 285-pound tackle from Mundelein (IL) Carmel Catholic, became the sixth player to commit to Minnesota from the Class of 2016.
Foster helped lead the Corsairs to a 7-4 mark last season, losing to Fenwick 31-14 in the second round of the Class7A playoffs.
Gopher Hole caught up with Foster to learn the latest on his decision.
Gopher Hole: You committed to Minnesota over the weekend. What was the main reason that you decided that Minnesota was the place that you wanted to be?
Sean Foster: One of the key reasons was that it was a place that I felt like I was most at home. I loved being around the guys and the coaches. It was a lot of fun.
Gopher Hole: Had you spent much time in Minnesota before your commitment?
Sean Foster: I went up there April 4th.
Gopher Hole: How long had you been hearing from Minnesota?
Sean Foster: About three or four months now.
Gopher Hole: When you made the decision, what other schools were you down to? Were you down to a certain number of schools or had you even gotten that far?
Sean Foster: Yes and no. When I went up to Minnesota, I was sold right away. After I went to Minnesota, I really choose that as the place I wanted to be.
Gopher Hole: Minnesota now has six commits. Have you gotten to know any of those kids at all?
Sean Foster: Oh, yes. I have gotten to know all of them pretty much. I got to talk to some of them last night. I am starting to be really good friends with Carter Coughlin. We have been in contact a lot and I have gotten to talk to the offensive linemen commit, who committed to Saturday (Sam Schlueter)
Gopher Hole: Is that kind of nice that you have gotten to know some of those players a little bit already even though you are not going to be here for another 14 months?
Sean Foster: Yes, it has been awesome. They are a bunch of great kids and I can’t wait to actually start playing with them.
Gopher Hole: I actually went to watch Carmel Catholic play back in 2003 when they had a senior Jack Simmons, who went on to play at Minnesota and his father had played here, too. Have you ever heard of him or did you know anything about him at all?
Sean Foster: Yes, I have actually been in contact with Jack. He always comes up to Carmel and visits with us. I actually got to talk to him on the phone a couple of times, so that was cool.
Gopher Hole: What did he tell you about Minnesota?
Sean Foster: He just kind of talked to me about it a month ago and everything he said was true about the staff and it is awesome.
Gopher Hole: Have you a chance to talk to the schools that were recruiting you to let them know that you are going to Minnesota?
Sean Foster: No, I actually have to call the coaches tonight and break the news.
Gopher Hole: Is that going to be hard or is just something that you have to do?
Sean Foster: It is going to be hard, but at the end of the day, it is something that I need to do. I have to make the best decision for me and my family.
Gopher Hole: What was the reaction from your family and friends since you committed?
Sean Foster: Very excited because they want the best for me and that is very cool. I have a bunch of friends who are looking out for me as well as my parents and all my other family members. They have been nothing but excited for me.
Gopher Hole: I talked to your head coach Andy Bitto earlier today and said that since you are a taller lineman that it sometimes takes time to grow into your body and that you will be a much better player when you are 21. Is that something that you are thinking might be the case as you grow into your body?
Sean Foster: Yes. I am barely starting to grow into my body and I should be about ready to peak my freshman year.
Gopher Hole: I think that I read that you had about 18 offers. Does that sound right?
Sean Foster: I had about 26.
Gopher Hole: That has to make you feel pretty proud that all your hard work has paid off?
Sean Foster: Yes, it has.
Gopher Hole: Had you always that you were going to commit this early or did this just come up because you thought that this was the right school?
Sean Foster: I didn’t really think about it until a couple of days ago when me and my dad sat down for dinner and he pointed out that if I really felt that I made a home at Minnesota, I should go there and not dick around and do what was right for me and I felt that Minnesota was the right fit for me and therefore I committed on Sunday.
Gopher Hole: I know that your head coach had a relationship with Coach Limegrover. How important was your relationship with Coach Limegrover in your decision to commit to Minnesota?
Sean Foster: That was huge because I did my homework on people before I go up there and I talked to Coach Bitto numerous times about Coach Lmegrover and the coaching staff there and he had nothing but great things to say.
Gopher Hole: I know that you just committed yesterday, but does it feel like a weight has been lifted off your shoulders already?
Sean Foster: Yes.
Gopher Hole: What was the reaction of the kids at schools? Did you get a lot of high fives?
Sean Foster: Yes. I got a lot of congratulations and stuff like that. It felt pretty cool and I am just excited right now that I get to go to one of the up-and-coming best schools in the country. I just can’t wait to see what goes on with it.
Gopher Hole: I know that Carmel is usually one of the top programs in the state of Illinois each year. What are the expectations for the upcoming season?
Sean Foster: The first expectation that we have this year is to make sure that we win the conference. That is huge for all of us because we have worked so hard and we have some great talent on the team. We have an excellent tight end in Noah (Turner) (who has 16 offers, including three Big Ten offers) and an up-and-coming (2017) star running back named Rondel Jamison. Our goal this year as an offensive line is to make sure that he breaks the school record in both touchdowns and yards gained. That would be huge for all of us because that would mean that we did our job and we are getting him to the next level that he needs to play at and we know that he is going to be a Division I player soon.