Matthew Garrett Forte (born December 10, 1985) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Tulane Green Wave and was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft. Forte established himself as a dual-threat running back capable of earning yards as a rusher and receiver. He is one of only three players on the "1,000-yard rushing, 100-catch season" club. Forte spent eight seasons with the Bears before playing for the New York Jets for two seasons.
Early years
Forte grew up in Slidell, Louisiana, and graduated from Slidell High School in 2004, where he was a letterman in football and track & field. As a junior, he rushed for 1,057 rushing yards with eight rushing touchdowns, and caught 30 passes for 365 yards and three receiving touchdowns. As a senior, he was named the St. Tammany Parish Player of the Year, District 5-5A Offensive MVP and received All-Metro selection accolades, as he gained 1,375 yards with 23 touchdowns and caught 18 passes for 253 yards and two receiving touchdowns. He totaled 2,432 rushing yards and 31 in his career while also catching 48 passes for 618 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns.
As a standout sprinter, Forte competed in track and had some of the better 100m and 200m times in the New Orleans area in 2003, with personal-bests of 10.68 seconds in the 100 meters and 22.10 seconds in the 200 meters.
College career
Forte played NCAA Division I college football at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana, a member of Conference USA. He played from 2004–2006 under head coach Chris Scelfo and in 2007 under Bob Toledo.
2004 season
As a freshman, Forte split a bulk of the carries with junior Jovon Jackson. On October 23, against UAB, he scored his first collegiate touchdown on a six-yard rush in the 59–55 victory. His major breakout game came against Army on November 13. In the 45–31 victory, he totaled 34 carries for 216 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns to go along with three receptions for 67 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown. He had 624 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns to go along with 20 receptions for 180 yards and two receiving touchdowns during Tulane's 5–6 season.
2005 season
As a sophomore, Forte continued to share the backfield with Jovon Jackson. However, Forte got a majority of the carries for the season. He crossed the 100-yard rushing mark once in 2005, against Southern Miss on November 26. Overall, he had 169 carries for 655 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns to go along with 23 receptions for 163 yards and one receiving touchdown during Tulane's tumultuous 2–9 season, which saw the Green Wave forced to play all of their games on the road and at neutral sites due to Hurricane Katrina.
2006 season
Forte started his junior season in the lead role in the backfield. He got a majority of the carries, sharing the bulk of the total rushing attack with Ray Boudreaux and Ade Tuyo after going down to injury in early November. In the Green Wave's second game of the season, he had 29 carries for 170 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown in a victory over Mississippi State. Starting on October 7 against Rice, Forte totaled four consecutive games going over the 100-rushing yard mark. He scored six total touchdowns in the span, which had victories over Rice and Army but losses to UTEP and Auburn. His junior year was cut short when he suffered an injury in the game against Marshall on November 4. He finished his junior season with 859 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns to go along with 28 receptions for 360 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns during Tulane's 4–8 season.
2007 season
Forte returned from his injury to have a standout season under new head coach Bob Toledo. He got a wide majority of the Green Wave offense's total carries in their 4–8 season. Forte set several Tulane school records, including rushing for 2,127 rushing yards and 23 rushing touchdowns. He had five games with at least 200 rushing yards games, two games with at least 300 rushing yards games, and three games with at least four rushing touchdowns during the 2007 season. He finished second in the NCAA in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns in 2007, trailing only Kevin Smith of Central Florida. Forte was the only BCS non-AQ conference athlete to be a semifinalist for both the Maxwell and Doak Walker Awards and to make the Walter Camp Player of the Year List, and one of just three players nationally to be named to all three lists.