Varnado High School graduate Otha Foster III has signed with the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens.
“I’m very excited about the opportunity to sign with the Ravens,” Foster said. “I’m thankful to them for giving me the opportunity to continue my dream of playing professional football.”
Foster played two years at Pearl River Community College during 2009 and 2010. He then transferred to the University of West Alabama, where he completed his college career in 2011 and 2012. In his two seasons at West Alabama, he had a total of 96 tackles, 16 pass deflections and 10 interceptions.
Foster began his professional career in 2013 when he signed with the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent. He was released by the Chiefs after the third game of the preseason that year.
After taking off the rest of 2013, the 2006 Varnado graduate played the next three seasons in the Canadian Football League. The first two were with the Edmonton Eskimos, and last year, he played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Foster made 173 defensive tackles with nine more special teams stops and six sacks over 51 games in the CFL. Foster picked off three passes, scored two touchdowns and forced three fumbles over that time.
In 2015, Foster was part of a Grey Cup Championship with Edmonton when the Eskimos defeated Ottawa, 26-20, to capture the title.
Foster said he learned a lot in the CFL.
“It was a great experience for me,” Foster said. “When I first went to the Chiefs after being undrafted, I didn’t have that much experience. Going to the CFL helped me gain a lot of experience.”
This season, the Ravens tallied an 8-8 record and missed the playoffs.