EVANSTON, Ill. – Northwestern Football has welcomed Chris Foster as the Wildcats’ new running backs coach. With 19 years of coaching experience, Foster joins the Wildcats from East Carolina University, where he was the running backs coach and recruiting coordinator.
Foster rounds out the latest of coaching additions to Dan & Susan Jones Family Head Football Coach Pat Fitzgerald‘s staff which also includes defensive coordinator David Braun, wide receivers coach Armon Binns, defensive line coach Christian Smith and cornerbacks coach LaMarcus Hicks.
Last season under Foster, Eastern Carolina’s running backs rushed for 5.2 yards per carry, second highest in the AAC, 2,218 yards, and 25 touchdowns. The ECU running backs room was led by Keaton Mitchell, a PFF All-American honorable mention, who ranked second in the nation with 7.22 yards per carry. Mitchell rushed for 1,452 yards which ranked second-highest in the conference and 12th best in the country.
Powered by Foster’s rushing attack, the Pirates posted an 8-5 record in 2022 and knocked off Coastal Carolina 53-29 to win the TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl.
In 2021, ECU went 7-5 and averaged 170.4 yards on the ground per game. In his first season with Foster, Mitchell became the first East Carolina running back to average over 100 yards per game since NFL All-Pro Chris Johnson did so in 2007. Mitchell ranked ninth in the country with 6.5 yards per carry.
In two years with Foster, Mitchell broke into ECU’s top ten rushing leaders in program history with 2,492 rushing yards and set the program record with 7.0 yards per carry in his career. After being named First Team All-AAC in both his seasons as the starter, Mitchell is a projected day two pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Prior to his stint at East Carolina, Foster spent five years as the running backs coach, recruiting coordinator, and associate head coach at Georgia Southern where he mentored future NFL running back Matt Breida. Foster joined the Eagles staff in 2016 as the running backs coach and was quickly elevated to recruiting coordinator in 2018, before also taking on the role of associate head coach in 2019.
In his final season at Georgia Southern, Foster’s running backs finished sixth in the country with 267.1 rushing yards per game and combined to rush for 2,427 yards and 17 touchdowns. Foster was named a nominee for the…
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