B.J. Foster would’ve transferred if Tom Herman was HC in 2021?

There were a few Texas football players that didn’t look to be fully engaged (to say the least) in the second half of last season for then first-year head coach Steve Sarkisian and his new staff. Two of those that really stuck out at times, and from reports we heard about what was going on behind the scenes with the players, were redshirt junior wide receiver Joshua Moore and senior safety B.J. Foster.

In a move that didn’t surprise many, Moore was one of the first Longhorns players to put his name in the NCAA Transfer Portal ahead of this offseason. Moore put his name in the transfer portal back on Nov. 8, 2021, well before the current offseason arrived.

Moreover, it took Foster a little bit longer to put his name in the transfer portal. Foster was actually a starter for the Longhorns through the regular season finale before he was finally benched from a seemingly poor effort on the field in an eventual Black Friday win at home over the Kansas State Wildcats.

Ironically enough, Foster would be benched for junior safety Chris Adimora, who would also wind up putting his name in the transfer portal early this offseason.

Foster would put his name in the transfer portal officially on Dec. 10, 2021, roughly two weeks after Texas’ regular season finale win over Kansas State.

It took a good while for Foster to find his next landing spot out of the portal. But earlier this week, the news dropped that Foster signed with FCS Sam Houston State on National Signing Day (Feb. 2).

Foster officially signing with Sam Houston State out of the portal brings to an end one of the more dramatic sagas it seems of 2021 for Sark and the Longhorns. According to a report from Horns247 (paid content) this week, others around the Texas program oftentimes felt Foster wasn’t giving a full effort out on the field.

Former Texas football S B.J. Foster could’ve reportedly transferred before the 2021 season if Tom Herman was still the head coach

And maybe the most interesting thing that this Horns247 report mentions is that it sounds like Foster might not have stuck around if former Texas head coach Tom Herman and his staff were still with the program. It mentions how the “drill sergeant” mentality that Herman instilled in the program while he was head coach would’ve meant Foster would have a really tough time on the Forty Acres during the 2021 campaign.

Yet, Sark has a more player-friendly mantra as the head coach. That meant Foster could slide through in 2021 just by not outwardly challenging the coaching staff, which was different than how things were under Herman and his staff.

This whole theory has some backing to it knowing that Foster was a regular starter for the Longhorns throughout the season and was showing an evident lack of effort at times late in games. That was especially true it seemed in the second half of the season.

All in all, though, it was likely best for Texas and Foster to part ways if this report is really true. Sark is trying to take the Texas program in a new direction and Foster will get an opportunity to build his NFL Draft stock elsewhere.

Foster was a highly touted former five-star recruit that is one of the higher-rated signees in the last five years for the Longhorns. We’ll see if he can live up to that billing on a consistent basis with Sam Houston State in 2022.

During his four years playing for Texas, Foster registered nearly 170 combined tackles, 17.5 tackles for loss, five sacks, five interceptions, two pass breakups, and two forced fumbles. Foster led Texas in interceptions in 2021 with three.