Photo courtesy of Bludoor Studios
By Linden Wilson
On Nov. 30, 2013, all eyes were on Cade Foster. The 6'1'',br220-pound senior placekicker for the Alabama Crimson Tide had already missed abr45-yard field goal against the Auburn Tigers during the first quarter of thebrIron Bowl at Jordan-Hare Stadium. When a shorter kick he made later in the gamebrhad to be re-kicked because an offensive lineman moved offside, Cade missed thebrretry. With less than three minutes to go in the fourth quarter, Alabama was upbr28 to 21 and Cade was up to kick a third field goal from 44 yards out. Thisbrtime, it was blocked, and Auburn was able to gain a touchdown and tie the gamebrat 28. Most everyone knows what happened next — Cade, benched in favor ofbrredshirt freshman kicker Adam Griffith, watched from the sideline as Adambrmissed a 57-yard field goal that Auburn returned for a touchdown to win thebrgame, 34 to 28, as the clock expired.
Thebraftermath was a media frenzy. What many referred to as one of the most dramaticbrendings to a game in college football history was overshadowed by the numerousbrdeath threats and hate mail Cade Foster received on social media. Yet hisbrteammates quickly came to his defense (quarterback AJ McCarron tweeted, “If youbrblame this on one guy, you aren't a true fan!”), and thousands of letters ofbrsupport from fans began pouring in. One piece of mail Cade received came frombran unexpected source: President George W. Bush. “Dear Cade (#43),” the letter reads.br“Life has its setbacks. I know! However, you will be a stronger human withbrtime. I wish you all the best. Sincerely, another 43, George Bush.”
The entire season leading up to thebrIron Bowl, Cade made 11 of 12 field goals, and the rest of his career had been virtuallybrflawless. The only other time he experienced as rough a game was during hisbrsophomore season against the LSU Tigers, when he also missed three field goalbrattempts and Alabama lost in overtime. The Tide's recent loss to the OklahomabrSooners in the 2014 Sugar Bowl also proved difficult, but Cade is no strangerbrto adversity, and he knew how to hold his head high and deal with the defeat.
A leg up
After moving from Fort Worth to Southlake in the eighthbrgrade, Cade Foster, formerly a soccer player, decided to take up footballbrbecause essentially, it runs in his blood. Cade's father, Dan, played defensivebrback, and his grandfather, Herman, was an All-American offensive linemanbr— both were both state champions in high school. In 2006, Cade won his ownbrstate championship as a freshman at Southlake Carroll with a 43-29 victory overbrAustin Westlake under the leadership of Coach Todd Dodge.
“I had abrlot of fun that year,” Cade says. “The camaraderie of high school football,brespecially in Texas, is unmatched. The support of the team in Southlake is thebrbest in the nation, in my opinion, from the awesome band to the Emerald Bellesbrto all of the teachers and parents who support football.”
Thebrfollowing season, Todd Dodge left Southlake to coach at the University of NorthbrTexas, and it was Hal Wasson who took his place. He and Cade quickly formed abrclose bond that lasted throughout Cade's high school career.
“Cade's abrtremendous competitor,” Hal says. “He played middle linebacker for us and alsobrserved as our kicker, so that's quite a contrast in positions. He was thebrultimate team player, and that's what I admired about him — his workbrethic, passion and competitive spirit. He's a very sincere young man. I alwaysbrsay the greatest compliment a player can receive is that he's a greatbrteammate.”
In Februarybrof his junior year, Cade was in the middle of history class when his phonebrbegan blowing up with text messages saying Alabama head coach Nick Saban wasbrtrying to reach him. Moments later, when his phone rang with a number that hebrdidn't recognize, Cade asked his teacher if he could step out into the hallway.
“CoachbrSaban offered me the scholarship right there on the phone,” Cade says. “I saidbrI wanted to take a visit first, so I went to watch them play South Carolina. Theybrwon pretty handedly and won a national championship that year. I committed andbrnever looked back.”
Cade goes collegiate
The biggest challenge for Cade in his transition from highbrschool to college football was moving from linebacker to kicker — whichbrrequired a completely different mentality.
“As abrlinebacker, you go out and have 70 or so plays, and you'll have good ones andbrbad ones,” Cade explains. “But if you miss a big kick, you're going to bebrscrutinized for it more heavily than for your good kicks.”
During hisbrsenior season at Alabama, Cade racked up 96 total points from 11 field goalsbrand 56 PATs, compared to 12 total points his junior year, six his sophomorebryear and 28 his freshman year. Throughout his college career, Cade spent morebrthan twice the amount of time in the weight room as his teammates, as kickersbrneed specific training to work various different muscles. He would first workbrout with the rest of the team doing exercises like Olympic lifts, power cleansbrand squats, then follow with a lot of his own core and strengthening exercisesbrspecific to kicking. During football season, the team spent about eight hoursbrper day training and practicing, with four hours of classes in between morning workoutsbrand evening practice.
“I consideredbrit a full-time job,” Cade says. “But it didn't feel like one because it's sobrfun and enjoyable.” Cade, who graduated with a degree in business last year andbrwill receive his master's degree this August, says he's thrived at Alabama bothbracademically and athletically because Tuscaloosa and the rest of the statebrremind him of where he grew up.
“Alabama isbrvery comparative to the feel and culture of Texas,” he says. “It's in thebrsouth, and there are people here with good morals and good values. I'm verybrblessed to be a part of this school.”
Cade'sbrfamily made it to every single one of his home games during his collegebrfootball career, either driving or flying down and staying in their Tuscaloosa condobrfor the weekend. He counts them and his grandparents — all Southlake residentsbr— as his biggest supporters, especially since they have been immersed inbrfootball culture their entire lives.
“They'rebrproud of me and see the kind of character that I have, and that's the mostbrimportant thing,” Cade says. “They're going to love me whether I make all mybrkicks or miss every one of them.”
Tackling adversity
The Alabama-Auburn matchup drew 13.8 million viewers, makingbrit the most-watched college football game of the season up until that date, andbrCade knew just how many people were watching him.
“It was anbrexciting game to be a part of, but I didn't have my best game at all,” he says.br“Missing the kick that I had to retake was really disappointing because that'sbra kick that I've made 100 percent in my whole college career. That was reallybrtough to deal with. The other kicks people were also trying to blame on me, butbrat the end of the day, one was a challenging kick, and I don't have muchbrcontrol over a blocked field goal.”
The Sundaybrafter the Iron Bowl, Hal Wasson was driving home from church when he decided tobrgive Cade a call. Hal's Southlake Carroll football team had just suffered abrloss to Euless Trinity in the playoffs that same weekend.
“I remindedbrCade that he can choose to conquer adversity,” Hal recalls. “I told him to neverbrlet anyone affect the way he feels about himself. It's okay to be disappointed,brbut there's never been one kick or one game that defined a person. Last time Ibrchecked, Alabama had a great season. And how many guys can say they were a partbrof two national titles?”
Halbrmentions that he gets annoyed when people get overly critical and negativebrabout football games — particularly on social media where speculation runsbrrampant — especially because most can't relate to what the players actually gobrthrough.
“I don'tbrthink people realize how hard it is to win a game, to make a kick or make abrtackle at that level,” he says. “It's okay to have an opinion, but it's sobrtragic when people take it too far because they have probably never even playedbra football game.”
Duringbrtheir conversation, Hal says Cade actually ended up making him feel better,brwhich is directly indicative of who Cade is — humble, caring and concerned morebrfor his teammates than for himself.
Post-season goals
Now that his college football career has come to an end,brCade remains intent on furthering his education even after he receives hisbrmaster's degree, either by studying to receive his MBA or going to law school.
“Unless Ibrget strong consideration for the NFL, I'm probably going to hang up my cleatsbrand my helmet,” he says. Hal, who tells each and every one of his players thatbrhe has their backs for a lifetime, believes Cade has what it takes to play withbrthe pros.
“There's nobrdoubt in my mind that Cade can kick at any level,” he says. “There's no coachbror player who's ever been perfect and there never will be. If he chooses to gobrthe NFL route, I have no doubt that he would be extremely successful at it. Butbrat the end of the day, whatever he chooses, he's going to be successful becausebrhe's looked adversity square in the eye and he's blown right through it.”