NFL Draft 2005 Update

It has been reported that Northwestern DT Luis Castillo has tested positive for Androstenedione, which is considered a steroid by the NFL, at the February NFL combine in Indianapolis. He said he took the drug to help his performance at the combine after he was slow to heal from an elbow injury. He stated it was a one time incident.

A football source told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Wednesday that Castillo tested positive for androstenedione. Castillo, considered a likely first-day draft pick also sent a letter to the 32 NFL teams alerting them of the situation. Mel Kiper Jr. has projected Castillo as the 55th pick in the draft, going to the Buffalo Bills. Castillo also released his testing records from Northwestern. Northwestern coach Randy Walker also sent a letter to the NFL teams in which he said Castillo never failed a drug test at the school. Castillo was also willing to tie his signing bonus to a clean testing clause in his contract.

The story was first reported by ESPN.com.

As a rule, the NFL does not comment on drug tests. Under the terms of the NFL steroids policy, Castillo is now subject to reasonable-cause testing while playing in the league. He could be tested up to 24 times a year in the program. The NFL steroid policy is also going through a recent change to it's acceptable Testosterone levels.

Under the previous guideline used by the International Olympic Committee and the NFL, a ratio above 6:1 of Testosterone to Epitestosterone, another natural hormone, was considered a failed test. Now it's 4:1.

The most likely natural ratio of Testosterone to Epitestosterone in humans is 1:1.