Tulane's Gift to the NFL
Matthew Garrett Forte was born on December 10, 1985, in Lake Charles, Louisiana, and grew up in Slidell — on the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain, close enough to New Orleans to feel the city's pull. He attended Slidell High School, where he was a standout running back, and then did something that most Louisiana football recruits don't do: he went to Tulane.
The Green Wave hadn't exactly been a football powerhouse, but Forte turned heads anyway. His senior season in 2007 was spectacular — 2,127 rushing yards and 23 touchdowns, numbers that forced NFL scouts to pay attention to a mid-major program. He set school records that still stand and proved that talent doesn't need a nationally ranked program to announce itself.
A Decade in the NFL
The Chicago Bears drafted Forte in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft, and he immediately made the record books. His rookie season — 1,238 rushing yards and 1,715 total scrimmage yards — broke the Bears' record previously held by Hall of Famer Gale Sayers. That's the company Forte kept from day one.
Over eight seasons in Chicago, Forte became one of the most versatile running backs in football history. He was a two-time Pro Bowl selection, and he became one of only three players ever to record 1,000 rushing yards and 100 receptions in a single season. He could run between the tackles, catch passes out of the backfield, and pick up blitzes — the complete package that every offensive coordinator dreams about.
He finished his career with two seasons in New York with the Jets, retiring in 2018 with 9,796 career rushing yards, 554 receptions, and 75 total touchdowns. He was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 2023.
Slidell to the Record Books
Matt Forte proved that a kid from Slidell who went to Tulane could compete with anyone in the NFL. He broke Gale Sayers' records. He made the Pro Bowl twice. And he did it with the quiet, steady consistency that defines the best people from the North Shore — no flash, all substance.
Leave a comment
All comments are moderated before being published.
This site is protected by hCaptcha and the hCaptcha Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.