Bryce Foster ‘full go’ following summer injury, building trust with OL

Kansas center Bryce Foster underwent a procedure during the summer that caused him to miss the beginning of fall camp. Foster said it was a freak accident that happened during sprints. He said he was optimistic when he went down and is happy that he’s back to full go.

“There’s always that kind of worry in the back of your head, but I’m a hope for the best, prepare for the worst kind of guy,” Foster said. “So I was prepping for in case something like that were to be the case, but I’m fairly optimistic, I think. So I was really happy that I got to, it was only a couple of weeks and I was back doing everything full action.”

Foster is one of the returners on the offensive line and has racked up the preseason accolades, being named to the Outland Trophy Preseason Watch List and the Preseason All-Big 12 Team. Offensive line coach Daryl Agpalsa is excited about the type of season Foster can have for the Jayhawks.

While Foster was sidelined, players like Tyler Mercer and Amir Herring had the opportunity to get more reps at center. Foster said they asked him a lot of questions and are now able to learn from his example.

“They asked me a bunch of questions trying to, like, figure things out while they were doing stuff and so they did a really good job. I was proud of them,” Foster said. “And then now that I’m kind of back doing full swings, they’re able to kind of watch and see how I operate and then I can kind of them tap through the way I operate things as well.”

What Foster is looking for during position battles

Right guard and left tackle are two of the biggest position battles for Kansas heading into the season. Foster said he’s taken reps with six different guards over the course of camp. He’s excited to see how the competition shakes out, looking for someone he can trust.

“We talk about a big thing on our program’s trust. And it’s trusting that the guy next to me is going to be able to do his job,” Foster said. “And there’s specific instances I could get into the nitty-gritty about it with specific details, but it’s mostly the whole trust factor of being able to be like, all right, when this gets called, I know what he’s going to do and he knows what he’s going to do and there’s no second thought about it.”
Foster said the easiest way to build trust is through repetitions, needing to see someone do something rather than them just saying it. He’s seen a lot of good things throughout camp, noting how the group has stood out for its physicality.

“Physicality has been huge for us. I think we’ve tried to take a big step in that,” Foster said. “We say all the time we want to try to be the most physically dominant position group on the field or team on the field at all times. And so I think that we’ve made that a big emphasis for us this year. And I think that we have the guys to do it.”