Michigan State Bye Week Evaluations: Montorie Foster Jr.
The Michigan State Spartans sit at 3-3 as we arrive at their first bye week of the 2024 college football season.
Year one under head coach Jonathan Smith has gone well, producing some impressive wins and encouraging individual performances.
The bye week comes at the right time for the Spartans, as they have lost three consecutive games. The final scores do not indicate how competitive the Spartans have been in those losses, which should give Michigan State fans confidence.
Speaking of those individual performances, we continue our series of breaking down players at the midway point.
We have already covered quarterback Aidan Chiles and running back Nate Carter. You can read those breakdowns by clicking the links.
Today’s breakdown is senior wide receiver Montorie Foster Jr. How has the elder statesman in the wide receiver room performed this year?
Through six games, Foster has caught 22 passes for 274 yards and a touchdown. He leads the team in receptions, but Nick Marsh leads the team in yards.
Foster has been Michigan State’s most consistent receiver in 2024. He is a sure-handed, reliable route runner, which he has been his whole career. When the Spartans need a big gain downfield, Chiles will look Foster’s way.
Foster has 13 receptions for first downs this season. That is on pace to shatter his total last year of 25.
The biggest positive about Foster’s game is that he does not drop passes. He has just one dropped pass this season. According to Pro Football Focus, Foster’s drop percentage is just 5.6 for his career.
While he does not drop passes, one thing that Foster must improve in the second half of the 2024 season is getting open. Foster occasionally struggles to create separation, which forces Chiles to look for his second read.
Foster has improved his fumble problems since his gaffe against Florida Atlantic to open the season. As long as the ball is going Foster’s way, he is coming up with a big catch to move the chains for the Spartans.
Beyond just performing on the stat sheet, Foster’s leadership and experience have helped young receivers. Having a player who has been with the team for five years and knows the ins and outs of college football is invaluable.
The Spartans need Foster to continue to produce and lead the young guys if they want to make a bowl game. He is one of the faces of this program right now, and he must take that seriously.
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