CB Teddy Foster Locked Into Florida Pledge: ‘I'm a Gator’

Gators cornerback pledge Teddy Foster affirmed his commitment to Florida and reacted to his first gameday in The Swamp on Saturday.

Florida hosted several 2024 commits during the first home contest of the 2023 campaign against McNeese State on Saturday evening.

Present for the Gators 49-7 victory was prized Texas-based quarterback commitment DJ Lagway, along with in-state defenders Kendall Jackson, Myles Graham and Teddy Foster.

The latter of the trio of defenders enjoyed his first taste of the game day experience in Gainesville. He spoke about the trek postgame.

“Amazing, amazing,” Foster told All Gators about his first trip to The Swamp for a game. “Great environment. It really fun thing it in person, my first home game here ever, the environment, the fans. I mean, we took a loss week one, it was good to see the fan base come back, bounce back, full stands and just support the team.”

After shutting down his recruitment with his decision to align with Florida in mid-July, Foster shifted focus to his senior prep season. Through two weeks, the Cougars are 2-0 with just six points allowed, thanks in large part to the island Foster owns in coverage on his side of the field.

Schools like North Carolina and Utah have taken notice and continued contacting the Sarasota (Fla.) product, although to no avail as he remains steadfast in his Florida pledge.

“Right now, I'm shut down. I'm locked in.”

Not even the Gators loss to the Utes — a promising team in pursuit of his services — in Week 1 can sway Foster.

“I seen it but I'm not afraid by any losing and stuff like that,” he said. “I'm a Gator and I'm gonna stay by it.”

Getting the chance to see an influx of youthful talent operating in the lineup throughout two weeks, specifically in the secondary, the 6-foot-2, 170-pound cornerback has found comfort in knowing a spot could be available for him to assume once he arrives on campus.

Despite his status as a prospect needing refinement before being ready for the collegiate gridiron, Florida is opening the door for young talent to assert themselves into contributing roles early on.

Early enrollee defensive backs Jordan Castell, Ja’Keem Jackson, Sharif Denson and Bryce Thornton have reaped the benefits of that approach thus far.

“It’s a great feeling just seeing potentially how hard I work, I could be on the field early as possible.” 

Foster is planning to follow in the footsteps of the aforementioned quartet of coverage men by enrolling at UF in January, looking to get on a fast-track development plan and find a way to contribute early with added practice reps in the spring with secondary coach Corey Raymond — who he has a strong rapport with.

“I mean, it's been amazing,” Foster said about the growing connection with Raymond. “We've been on the phone a lot, messaging a lot.

“He just came to my game yesterday night. That was the first time out. So, I mean, that was a big one.”

Foster is scheduled to return to Gainesville in week three as the Gators open SEC play against the Tennessee Volunteers. He'll be a frequent visitor for UF throughout the season as he plans to make the two-and-a-half-hour drive frequently for several preliminary tastes of The Swamp's gameday environment.

"I'll be here a lot," he said.

There, he’ll get the opportunity to continue building tight-knit relationships with the other 2024 commits who come through Gainesville each week.

“It's actually fun, but we've talked a lot. Like we have a couple group chats, we send a lot of jokes in there, talk about our games and stuff like that,” he said. “So, we really close right now, this is a really close group.”

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