National Football League

Linebacker Reuben Foster had positive drug test at draft combine

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

Sports Illustrated, SI Wire/Sports Illustrated

Former Alabama linebacker Reuben Foster had a positive drug test at the draft combine, he told NFL.com.

“This is something that's going to get out. I don't make excuses. I'm a real dude. I try to be a good person,” Foster said. “I just hope the coaches understand and that's all I can hope and pray for.”

Foster called NFL teams to deliver the news himself and explain what happened. He says he thinks it was food poisoning that caused the test to come back diluted, as he was sick prior to the combine, got medication and hydrated himself as much as possible.

“I couldn't eat much, but I had to drink water and Gatorade," Foster said. Then a few coaches said something about me being too light. And I'm a coach-pleaser. I don't care what everybody thinks, but I care what coaches think. So I drank and ate as much as I could without throwing up. Then I went in there, drinking and drinking water, trying to flush out my system from whatever was making me sick and trying to keep my weight up and took the test.”

Foster won the Butkus Award as the nation’s top linebacker and remains one of the most talented defenders in the draft, but continued questions — he’s coming off rotator cuff surgery, he was sent home early from the combine after an incident involving a medical worker and now this — may affect his eventual draft position.