ATLANTA – When Bryce Foster prepared himself for the bench press Tuesday at the Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge presented by adidas, other prospects started yelling out 40.
As in, Foster was going to pump out 40 reps at 225 pounds.
That did not happen, as the massive offensive guard from Katy (Texas) Taylor won the event with 26 repetitions, but the full-bearded 16-year-old thought he could do better. If only he warmed up more.
“My goal was probably about 30,” Foster said. “I’ve done 28 at some workouts. I just didn’t warm up enough. I won, so I’ll work with it.”
Foster is a mass of a human being and a no-nonsense football player who embraces physical play in the trenches. Other recruits were calling him “The Mountain”, a cap-tip to the monstrous character from Game of Thrones.
“I’m not surprised,” Foster said. “It’s a new one though.”
What makes his 26 reps even more impressive is that Foster said he does not bench press all that much. Sure, he lifts weights all the time, but that particular exercise is not something he focuses on more than others.
“I don’t primarily bench,” Foster said. “I do my high school workout, what we do at Katy Taylor, but I’ve always been naturally strong. At the beginning of eighth grade, my max was 275 on bench so I’ve always had that. I work everything, but I’m just blessed to be strong.”
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And don’t expect 26 reps to be his best effort. Even though he could easily pass for someone who could vote or even buy a few adult beverages, Foster still has a lot of years – and a college weight program – to keep upping his numbers.
“I just got my driver’s license, too, so I’m still young if that counts,” Foster said.
Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell was thoroughly impressed with the four-star offensive guard throughout the Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge, during one-on-ones and watching him pump out all those reps on the bench press.
“We saw him in the one-on-ones even before he did the bench press and he’s very well put-together, very compact, definitely an interior guy, but you can see how strong he is," Farrell said. "The way he anchors, the way he’s able to move people around, you can’t bull-rush him.
“And then putting up 26 reps at 225 pounds is just ridiculous for a kid who just turned 16. He looks much older. Whichever team gets him is going to get a mauler, road-grader in the middle who’s just going to destroy people in the run game.”
The question now is, where will Foster end up? He still has plenty of time with two high school seasons left, but there are a select group of schools involved the most.
Texas A&M had the early advantage but others – especially after seeing Foster in person – are coming on strong.
“Since I’ve started this recruiting process, it’s been a long one since eighth grade, but since I started it, A&M was always up my tail,” Foster said. “Now, it’s probably Oklahoma, they’re definitely coming after me a lot, along with LSU, A&M, Texas, TCU and Stanford, those are probably the main ones that are coming around quite often.
“Really my whole dream, first and foremost when I hang up the cleats, what kind of education am I going to have. Then it’s looking at how each school develops their offensive linemen to be first-round draft picks. That’s definitely another big thing.”
Oh, and an exceptional weight room probably won’t hurt, either.
