Tennessee's Malik Foreman (13) tries to get the crowd cheering. The South Carolina Gamecocks visited the Tennessee Volunteers in SEC football action November 7, 2015.KNOXVILLE - Malik Foreman was in the middle of his junior year at Kingsport's Dobyns-Bennett High School when he experienced the most memorable moment of his University of Tennessee fanhood.
In the penultimate game of the 2011 season, Eric Gordon returned an overtime interception for a touchdown as the Volunteers won in walk-off fashion against Vanderbilt at Neyland Stadium.
Foreman, who grew up a Vols fan because his mother, Tanya, attended school in Knoxville, knew then he wanted to play for his home-state program.
"That play kind of pushed me to want to play DB here," the senior cornerback recalled Tuesday. "Just to make an impact play like that would be awesome. That's probably my most vivid memory, even though it might not be the biggest."
In impact plays the past couple of seasons, whether it was in or against Tennessee's favor, Foreman always seemed to be involved.
In the 2015 loss to Oklahoma, he was flagged for a questionable pass-interference penalty on one of the Sooners' fourth-quarter touchdown drives, and two weeks later he was in the best position to make a play on Antonio Callaway's 63-yard catch-and-run go-ahead touchdown for Florida on fourth-and-14 in Gainesville.
After nearly losing his starting nickel corner job, Foreman made a season-saving play by forcing South Carolina tight end Jerell Adams to fumble as the Gamecocks threatened to win or force overtime.
"There's going to be some ups and downs in your career and in life, but you can't let them set you back," he said. "I just feel like I kept my head down and kept on pushing. I feel like I'm content with where I'm at right now."
Earlier this season at Georgia, Foreman was at fault when his split-second hesitation allowed Riley Ridley to get open for Jacob Eason's 47-yard touchdown bomb with 10 seconds left prior to Tennessee's game-winning Hail Mary.
The following week, though, he made one of the plays of the season when he somehow chased down Texas A&M running back Trayveon Williams and knocked the ball from his grasp as he neared the goal line.
The ball rolled through the end zone for a touchback, and Tennessee's offense tied the game in the final minute before ultimately losing in double overtime.
"I just remember (Williams) breaking, and I saw him running with the ball and the ball kind of peeked out," Foreman said. "I was just like, 'I've got to try.' To be able to make that play just to put us in position to win the game and help us win - the ultimate goal is get the 'dub,' is to win. I feel like I had to do all I could to help us get in that position.
"You can't leave any plays out there on the field, so I just try to give my all for teammates and my coaches."
Foreman called the play the individual highlight of his career.
"It kind of defined my season," he added. "Things weren't going good for us in the game at Texas A&M, but it's just something (where) we've got a find a way to persevere and just show the people and the fans we're not going to give up no matter what happens."
Though he began the season as Tennessee's starting nickel corner, Foreman was suspended for the Ohio game and moved to cornerback for two games to help the Vols replace All-SEC selection Cameron Sutton.
Then a shoulder injury forced him to miss the Alabama, South Carolina and Tennessee Tech games, but he returned and broke up a deep ball in the win against Kentucky.
On Saturday against Missouri's pass-happy offense, Foreman will play his final home game nearly four years after flipping his commitment from Vanderbilt to Tennessee and then-new coach Butch Jones.
"Time has definitely flown by," Foreman said. "It's been a great four years, and it's been a good journey. It's had its ups and downs, of course, but I've had a lot of fun while I've been here.
"Whenever I first signed with Coach Jones and (secondary) Coach (Willie) Martinez, we always talked about getting Tennessee back to where it's supposed to be. Seeing where the program was and where it is now, these past four years, just the progress we've made is what I'm most proud of."
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.