Ryan Bunnell is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Alhambra High School for AZPreps365.com.

When it comes to sports, “family” is a term often mentioned by players and coaches alike when describing their team. For Central High School’s Ismail “Izzy” Foz and coach Chandler Hovik, family is a reality.

In 2020, Hovik and his wife, Crishana, decided to bring Foz into their home and take on the role of Foz’s legal guardians.

“I didn’t think he was getting all the experiences that a teenage young man should have, so we wanted to give him an opportunity,” Hovik said.

Although Foz has already made a name for himself on the football field, filling the role of starting kicker, defensive back, and wide receiver for the 5-1 Bobcats, his journey to America makes him stand out off the field as well.

Foz is an African refugee from Burundi, a small country bordered by Rwanda and Tanzania.

Considering his mother resides in England while his father and grandmother remain in Africa, Foz made the 9,000-mile trip to start a new life relatively alone.

He first arrived in America with his big sister and cousin. After stints of living with his cousin as well as a group home, Foz said he was more than happy when living with Hovik became a reality.

“At that point when he said ‘I’m going to talk to my wife,’ I was so happy,” Foz said. “I thought ‘finally, I’m not going to be in a group home anymore. I just wanted to be in a better life.”

Adjusting to life 9,000 miles away from home is a tall task for any teenager, but Hovik said Izzy is a special kid thriving in his new environment.

“Friends haven’t really been an issue because he gets along with everybody,” Hovik said. “He’s really good at being on time, he’s organized, he does all the little things right.”

Hovik first met Izzy in a physical education class taught by a co-worker when Foz was a freshman. 

While Hovik walked around Central’s campus during class one day, he came across Foz kicking a soccer ball “harder than anyone” he had seen at that age.

Shortly after recognizing the potential talent in Foz, Hovik invited him to an off-season practice to try out as a kicker.

Foz said his heart nearly skipped a beat when he was approached by Hovik, considering he had  never played American football before then.

Even with a lack of experience, Foz wasn’t one to turn down an opportunity.

“If you trust yourself to do something, you can do it,” Foz said. “I trust myself, so I told myself I’ll come try.” 

Outside of football, Foz maintains the same mindset for any opportunity that comes his way.

“I have to do something,” Foz said. “I’m not just going to sit at home or play just one sport, because you never know what chance you’re going to have in sports.”

A tryout at kicker soon turned into running drills at wide receiver and filling in at defensive back for Central’s offseason 7-on-7 team.

Hovik said he was wildly impressed with how rapidly Foz learned not only the game of football but how to play his positions as well.

“Izzy is definitely a special athlete,” Hovik said. “For only playing football for the last year or so, to start varsity at receiver, at defensive back, and being one of the best kickers in the state, that tells a lot about his hard work.”

Now with multiple seasons on varsity under his belt, Central quarterback Dominik Bagchi described Foz as an inspiration for the entire team.

“He’s always been a ray of positivity,” Bagchi said. “He always has a smile. It could be the worst day ever, literally running in a dust storm and he’ll still be making jokes or smiling and laughing out there. It’s nice to have that teammate that, no matter what, is always finding the bright side of things.”

Foz’s positivity isn’t limited to just the football field. He said no matter what situation he’s in, all he wants is to be happy and make the most of what he’s doing.

For example, on top of being a three-sport athlete – football, soccer, track and field – Foz has maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout his current junior year.

Foz said his grandmother raised him to understand the importance of school and what kind of opportunities academic success can lead to.

“Having an A in all my classes, paying attention every day in classes, respecting the teacher and do everything they tell me to, that’s just me,” Foz said.

Even with balancing a 4.0 and learning a new sport entirely, Foz still has the brainpower to speak and understand seven languages.

His first language is Swahili, though he has learned French, Spanish, and three other African-native languages including his native language of Kirundi throughout his childhood.

Excelling in the classroom isn’t the only thing Foz enjoys off the football field as he has also built a following on the social media platform TikTok. Foz has amassed nearly 8,000 followers posting a variety of dances and jokes.

Although he says he enjoys making videos in his free time, Foz has his sights set on a career outside of social media.

Plan A? Make it to the NFL, regardless of how much hard work it takes to get there. In the future, if Foz doesn’t receive a call on draft night, he said he wants to be a doctor or firefighter. 

Foz may be new to the sport of football in particular, but he recognizes the life-changing opportunities available through athletic excellence.

“In my life, I look back at how my life was, and I’m trying to make it better,” Foz said. “You never know where life is going to go and how you are going to have a future.” 

The first thing Foz said he would do if he were to achieve his NFL dream would be to provide his family a better life.

Hovik said he feels confident Foz can do just about anything he sets his mind to.

“If he wants to go play college football or college soccer, I think he has a real opportunity to,” Hovik said. “He’s got good size, he’s understanding the game now, he understands his positions, so if that’s something he decides to pursue, he’s going to have every opportunity to do so.”

Foz came to America to experience a better life, and thanks to Hovik and the Central community, he said he feels like he is a part of something meaningful.

“This is my family right here,” Foz said. “I kind of take on my football team as my brothers. All my coaches are everything to me, my team is a part of my family.”