FERRIDAY — Ja’Shon Foster received the news he’s been anxiously anticipating as a Ferriday Trojan in the form of a text message Friday evening.

The text came from Ferriday head coach Dwight Woods, and it read, “Mississippi State wants to offer you.”

“I’ve been waiting on an offer to come,” a relieved Foster said. “I’ve been working hard to get one. Now that I’ve got it, that makes me want to work even harder.”

From the looks of the Ferriday High School senior wide receiver, one might be surprised it took this long. With a 6’6”, 180-pound frame, Foster can vertically stretch the field with his height and speed.

However, the offers from big schools were absent, as Foster’s 376 receiving yards and three touchdown receptions in 2014 failed to get the word out on his abilities. Foster didn’t lose sight of the end goal, though, as he watched videos of his favorite player, Calvin Johnson of the Detroit Lions, and emulated his workouts in the summer. Whether it was running drills through cones, pulling a tire or working on catching drills, Foster was gearing himself up for a big senior season.

Woods witnessed the work ethic, making him even more proud that Mississippi State offered.

“With him, it’s special because he has the potential to be a great player,” Woods said. “As far as a team aspect, it shows the rest of the kids that if you put in the work, you’ll create opportunities for yourself.”

Though Foster looks the part of a Division I wide receiver, Woods had to help Foster realize he was. To help boost Foster’s confidence, Woods made sure Foster attended football camps in the summer.

“We’ve been telling him, ‘Hey, you can be on that same level if that’s what you choose to be,’” Woods said. “Going to those camps, visually, it allowed him to see that, ‘Hey, I’m just as good if not better, than these guys.’”

One camp in particular, though, boosted Foster’s confidence more than any other, especially when he acquired the attention of LSU’s head coach during a pass catching drill.

“At LSU, I didn’t think I was going to make the showcase,” Foster said. “But I made it as a top five receiver. When I saw Les Miles come out there to watch us, it pumped me up.”

With Foster serving as the focal point, Woods has elected to bring in a more up-tempo passing offense in his first year as head coach of the Trojans. This will be a lot different from last year, as Ferriday leaned heavily on star running back Dontrell Domino.

The spread attack has Foster excited. But his head coach might be the most excited with Foster serving as a pivotal part of the offense.

“It’s always great when you have a big receiver out there,” Woods said. “Anything we run, we can throw it up to him, and he’s a security blanket. Teams are going to be pressed to double him, which will open up things for other guys.”

The physical attributes are there for Foster, his confidence has never been higher and the offer he’s always coveted is right in front of him. All that’s left for Foster to do now is go out and have the breakout season his teammates and his coaches have been clamoring for.

“I feel like I can be the best receiver in the state,” Foster said.