KNOXVILLE — University of Tennessee running backs coach Stan Drayton knows NFL talent.

Before coming to UT this offseason, Drayton held the same position at Florida. Before that, he coached Atlanta Falcons tailback Jerious Norwood for one season at Mississippi State. Before that, he spent three seasons as an offensive quality control and assistant special coach for the Green Bay Packers.

But before all of that, he coached Philadelphia Eagles star tailback Brian Westbrook at Villanova.

If you’re going to argue with Drayton about Vols senior Arian Foster’s NFL future, you better bring plenty of ammunition.

Drayton said Foster will be a “hot commodity” in spring’s draft.

“He is a very versatile back, probably one of the most versatile backs that I’ve ever coached,” Drayton said. “He’s also an extremely intelligent young man.”

Drayton has been an SEC assistant for the past three seasons, but Foster has still consistently surprised him in several ways.

“I knew he had the ability to catch the football, and I knew we had the ability to put him in a lot of different situations and have success outside of just giving him the football,” Drayton said. “But the thing that impresses me the most is how smart of a football player he is.

“You’ve got a player out there who sees it all and understands it and can come back and give you some good information as to what’s going on out there. You can make the adjustment and keep the pace rolling. That’s a huge advantage to me, and I’ve had that only one other time in my career, and that was with Brian Westbrook.”

Foster and Westbrook aren’t exactly carbon copies, though.

Westbrook is listed at 5-foot-10, 200 pounds. Foster is listed at 6-1, 215 and, according to Drayton, he’s much bigger.

“I wanted him to lose weight coming into the fall, and he actually put on some weight,” Drayton said. “But, what’s amazing, he also dropped his body fat and he got stronger. Because he is understanding and anticipating a lot better than he ever has, he looks faster and quicker out there.

“I’m not complaining any more. He’s 235, but he’s playing like he’s 220 ... As long as he’s not playing slow, I’m not complaining.”

Drayton said Foster had weighed 240, but the back wouldn’t confirm that. He said he played last season at 235 and currently sits at 232.

“I was a lot faster coming out of high school,” Foster said. “I gained weight, so I transitioned. It’s been a long journey, and I’ve been proud of what I’ve been able to accomplish.”

Drayton said he’s been pressing Foster to utilize his size.

“If you look at his past, he has always been a finesse-style runner,” Drayton said. “Everybody looks at his size, and they believe he shouldn’t be that style of runner, but that’s what he was in high school, as well. He never really hit the line of scrimmage with the right demeanor that a running back his size needs to have.

“Now that he knows what’s going to happen at the point of attack, you see him hitting it a lot harder.”

Drayton doesn’t want Foster to ditch his natural style — just add some punch. He said “that’s how the NFL will use him,” and there is experience behind that estimation.

“They’re going to be able to spread him out and throw him the football and things of that sort,” Drayton said. “But there’s going to come a time when he’s need to run between the tackles, and keep the ball in-bounds.”

At 235 pounds, that’s not an insurmountable problem.

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