The workouts at the 2017 NFL Scouting Combine next month will be missing one of the top defensive prospects.
Alabama middle linebacker Reuben Foster has undergone shoulder surgery on his right rotator cuff and will miss drill work at the combine, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.
Foster won the Butkus Award as the nation's top college linebacker last year after making a team-high 115 tackles on one of college football's top defenses. Foster, a senior, also made 13 tackles for loss and five sacks for the Crimson Tide. NFL.com analyst Daniel Jeremiah ranks Foster as the No. 6 overall prospect for the 2017 NFL Draft, and the draft's top linebacker.
Foster will attend the combine and participate in personal interviews with NFL club officials, according to Caplan. Alabama has yet to announce a date for its pro-day workout, and it's unclear to what extent, if at all, Foster could participate.
Foster isn't the only top linebacker who will miss combine workouts. Florida LB Jarrad Davis is out with an ankle injury that hampered him throughout his senior season for the Gators. Like Foster, he will attend the combine and go through interviews. Ohio State S Malik Hooker also will miss combine workouts. Hooker has undergone core muscle and hip surgeries. Western Michigan WR Corey Davis, another highly regarded draft prospect, reportedly won't run at the combine after undergoing ankle surgery.
The NFL Scouting Combine gathers more than 300 draft prospects in Indianapolis each year for a series of workouts, interviews and medical evaluations.
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