Reuben Foster says he tested positive for diluted urine sample
Reuben Foster, a projected first-rounder in the upcoming NFL draft, said he tested positive for a diluted urine sample at the recent NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis.
"This is something that's going to get out, Foster told NFL.com. "I don't make excuses. I'm a real dude. I try to be a good person. ... I just hope the coaches understand and that's all I can hope and pray for."
He also told the site that he was calling coaches and telling them about the test.
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As for why he tested positive, Foster told NFL.com that he was trying to rehydrate himself after coming down with what he believed to be food poisoning. He said he was vomiting, had diarrhea and was cramping. He was offered an IV, but refused and instead got medication from a doctor.
"I couldn't eat much, but I had to drink water and Gatorade," Foster told the site. "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."
He said that because of the test, he knows he'll be in the NFL's drug program, meaning he'll be subject to unannounced tests when he signs his contract.
Foster was an all-American linebacker for Alabama, making the defensive calls at inside linebacker. The latest USA TODAY Sports mock draft has him going at No. 11 to the New Orleans Saints.
He went into the combine as the top-rated linebacker and even though he was sent home because of a verbal altercation during the medical examination, he remains the top linebacker available, according to the USA TODAY Sports position rankings.
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