Tarean Folston
No. 25, 26
Position:Running back
Personal information
Born: (1995-01-11) January 11, 1995 (age 29)
Cocoa, Florida, U.S.
Height:5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight:214 lb (97 kg)
Career information
High school:Cocoa (FL)
College:Notre Dame
Undrafted:2017
Career history

Tarean Folston (born January 11, 1995) is a former American football running back. He most recently played for the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football for Notre Dame.[1]

High school

Folston attended Cocoa High School in Cocoa, Florida, where he was an AP Florida Class 4A first-team all-state selection in 2012.[2] He was also named the Florida Today offensive player of the year following his senior season, in which he rushed for 1,186 yards and 13 touchdowns helping advance Cocoa to the Florida state semifinals. He was selected to play in the 2013 Under Armour All-America Game in St. Petersburg, Florida.[3]

Considered a consensus four-star recruit by Rivals.com, ESPN and Scout.com, he was rated as the 6th best running back prospect of his class.[4] On January 2, 2013, he accepted a scholarship offer and committed to Notre Dame over offers from Florida State, Auburn and Oregon.[5][6]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight 40‡ Commit date
Tarean Folston
RB 		Cocoa, FL Cocoa High School 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 4.50 Jan 2, 2013 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 85
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 24 (RB), 6 (FL), 11 (regional)   Rivals: 14 (RB), 119 (national)  ESPN: 6 (RB), 66 (national)
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "Notre Dame Football Commitment List". Rivals.com. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
  • "Notre Dame College Football Recruiting Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
  • "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
  • "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
  • "2013 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved December 27, 2015.

College career

Freshman

Folston played a limited role in the first half of the season due to depth at the position and a hip flexor injury before having a breakout performance against Navy. He rushed for 140 yards on 18 carries, scoring a touchdown in the last few minutes of the game helping his team to victory.[7] He finished the season with 470 rushing yards on 88 carries, ranking third on the team in both categories, but tied for the team high with three rushing TDs.

Sophomore

Folston entered the season in a three-man rotation at running back with senior Cam McDaniel and fellow sophomore Greg Bryant. Through the first five games of the season, Folston managed only 165 yards before breaking out for three touchdowns (two rushing, one receiving) and 169 total yards in a 50–43 victory over North Carolina.[8] Following his performance, over the final seven games of the season, Folston earned the majority of the carries.[9] He rushed for 100+ yards in four of the final seven games of the season;[10] 120 against Florida State, 149 vs. Navy, 106 vs. Northwestern and 134 vs. Louisville, and concluded his season rushing for 73 yards and one touchdown against LSU in a 31–28 victory in the 2014 Music City Bowl. He finished his season with 889 rushing yards on 175 carries (5.1 avg) and six touchdowns, with 18 receptions for 190 yards and one touchdown receiving.

Junior

After his third carry of the season, against Texas, Folston left the game and did not return. The next day, Brian Kelly announced that Folston had torn his ACL and would miss the entire season.[11]

Career statistics

Rushing Receiving
Year Team Att Yds Avg Lng TD Rec Yds Avg TD
2013 Notre Dame 88 470 5.3 43 3 5 35 7.0 0
2014 Notre Dame 175 889 5.1 26 6 18 190 10.6 1
2015 Notre Dame 3 19 6.3 15 0 0 0 0.0 0
2016 Notre Dame 77 334 4.3 54 2 8 66 8.3 0
Career 343 1,712 5.0 54 11 31 291 9.4 1

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
5 ft 9+1⁄4 in
(1.76 m) 		199 lb
(90 kg) 		30+3⁄8 in
(0.77 m) 		9+1⁄2 in
(0.24 m)		 4.76 s 1.68 s 2.75 s 4.24 s 6.93 s 33.5 in
(0.85 m)		 9 ft 7 in
(2.92 m)		 20 reps
All values from Pro Day[12]

Atlanta Legends

In 2019, Folston joined the Atlanta Legends of the Alliance of American Football.[13] The league ceased operations in April 2019.[14]

Tampa Bay Vipers

Folston signed with the Tampa Bay Vipers of the XFL during training camp before its inaugural 2020 season. He was placed on injured reserve before the start of the season on January 21, 2020.[15][16] He was waived from injured reserve on February 28, 2020.[17] He was re-signed on March 6, 2020.[18] He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.[19]

Edmonton Elks

Folston was added to the active roster of the Edmonton Elks of the CFL on July 9, 2021.[20]

Personal

His father, James, was a second round draft pick by the Oakland Raiders in the 1994 NFL Draft and played eight seasons in the NFL. His younger brother, James Folston Jr., is a senior defensive end for the Pittsburgh Panthers. His sister, Jatana, is a Class of 2019 High School track and field athlete that recently signed an athletic scholarship with the University of Southern California USC.

References

  1. ^ Hansen, Eric. "Notebook: Surprise, surprise. Notre Dame RB Jafar Armstrong gets up to speed". Notre Dame Insider. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  2. ^ "AP Florida Class 4A All-State football team – High School Sports Blog". typepad.com.
  3. ^ "High School Sports - FLORIDA TODAY - floridatoday.com". FLORIDA TODAY.
  4. ^ "Tarean Folston". ESPN.com.
  5. ^ "Tarean Folston Commits to Notre Dame". UHND.com – Notre Dame Football, Basketball, & Recruiting.
  6. ^ "Cocoa Tigers Star Running Back Chooses Notre Dame". spacecoastdaily.com.
  7. ^ Tarean Folston breaks out, keys Irish win over Navy Archived 2013-11-13 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ "Tarean Folston Carries The Load Late For Irish". Irish247.
  9. ^ "Tarean Folston Taking Command As Top Irish Back". Irish247.
  10. ^ Chicago Tribune (November 27, 2014). "Learning patience pays off for Notre Dame's Tarean Folston". chicagotribune.com.
  11. ^ "Tarean Folston of Notre Dame Fighting Irish tears ACL, out for season". ESPN.com.
  12. ^ "2017 NFL Draft Scout Tarean Folston College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved July 3, 2023.
  13. ^ Winn, Andrew (January 26, 2019). "Ten Notre Dame Players Pursue NFL Ambitions in New Alliance of American Football". One Foot Down. SB Nation. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  14. ^ Rothstein, Michael; Wickersham, Seth (June 13, 2019). "Inside the short, unhappy life of the Alliance of American Football". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  15. ^ Talbot, Damond (January 22, 2020). "A Full List of XFL Roster Cuts, Who was released today?". NFLDraftDiamonds.com. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
  16. ^ "XFL Injured Reserve". XFL.com. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
  17. ^ @XFLVipers (February 28, 2020). "TRANSACTION ALERT" (Tweet). Retrieved February 28, 2020 – via Twitter.
  18. ^ @XFLVipers (March 6, 2020). "TRANSACTION ALERT" (Tweet). Retrieved March 6, 2020 – via Twitter.
  19. ^ Condotta, Bob (April 10, 2020). "XFL suspends operations, terminates all employees, but Jim Zorn says he has hopes league will continue". SeattleTimes.com. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  20. ^ "Elks make several roster moves". July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 9, 2021.

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