Texas’ Foreman lands a job close to home
Longhorns RB taken by Texans at pick No. 87
GALVESTON — The waiting was the worst part.
Then, the close calls with any other name starting with the letter D. A sigh of disappointment filled Texas running back D’Onta Foreman’s draft party when Cal quarterback Davis Webb’s name was called just two picks before the former Longhorns star went.
But the waiting was worth it, especially because Foreman doesn’t have to venture far to begin his NFL dream.
A product of Texas City, Foreman was selected by his hometown Texans with the 87th pick of the third round in Friday’s draft.
“I’m really at a loss for words,” he said. “So blessed and thankful. Honestly, as the process went on, it was just something in my heart telling me that I really wanted to be a Texan and I really wanted to play for my hometown.”
Foreman wasn’t sure to whom he first spoke on the phone when the Texans called him. The roar at his draft party when it became clear he would be a Texan made it difficult to hear.
But he knew he spoke to coach Bill O’Brien and general manager Rick Smith.
“He was a very productive inside runner that broke a lot of tackles,” O’Brien said. “He ran to the perimeter, too. He was productive first and second down, tackle to tackle runner. That was impressive.”
A wish list pick
Foreman stood out to Smith during the Texans’ local pro day workouts.
“I do a little bit of a wish list, guys I’d love to have on our team, and he was on that list,” Smith said.“We had multiple options at that spot. He happened to be the highest-rated player on our board at that point.”
Foreman will spell current starter Lamar Miller.
Foreman said he’s always had to prove himself and he’ll set out to do so in the NFL. He was the seventh running back taken with Leonard Fournette (Jacksonville) and Christian McCaffrey (Carolina) going in the first round Thursday and Dalvin Cook (Minnesota), Joe Mixon (Cincinnati), Alvin Kamara (Tennessee) and Kareem Hunt (Kansas City) picked Friday.
Perhaps Foreman’s credentials are just as impressive as anybody in the lot. The 6-0, 233-pounder left Texas as a junior after amassing 2,028 total yards on 323 carries with 15 touchdowns, earning him All-American honors and the Doak Walker Award in 2016.
His journey is not without heartbreak. Leading up to the NFL draft, he revealed in an interview with NFL Network that he was mourning the death of his infant son during the season last year, which he and his family kept private.
But Foreman will welcome a baby girl, whose due date is Sept. 16 — the same birth date of his late son.
“It’s so special,” he said. “It was a tragedy. I was heartbroken. We were heartbroken as a family. But now I got a baby girl. It just gives me extra motivation to keep striving and keep going hard.
“I knew before the season I was having a baby boy. I just wanted to make sure I did everything to put us in the best position. It’s sad that he can’t be here. It’s said that he can’t be here to witness it but I know he’ll be above me, watching over me.”
Foreman’s father Derrick and mother Shawn Smith couldn’t be happy. D’Onta’s younger brother Armanti will be finishing his senior season at Texas as a receiver next year.
So trips to Austin and Houston are in order.
“I don’t have to buy Texans gear,” said Derrick, who was already a Texans fan. “I’m already loaded. I just need a D’Onta jersey.”
The biggest prize for Shawn is the wide smile on D’Onta’s face. She knew he wanted to play for his hometown team.
“He’s done everything we’ve asked him to do,” Shawn said. “When he reaches the pedestal and you feel like you’ve done what you had to do? No better feeling.”
A fortune teller
Armanti almost felt like it was him in that chair waiting for the call Friday.
He might want to look into life as a fortune teller, too.
“Probably a week ago I had a dream about this, Armanti said. “Dream came true pretty much. The next morning when I woke up I sent a text out and told him ‘Third round to the Texans.’ ”