Some red flags have reportedly come up regarding former Alabama linebacker Reuben Foster, although they have little to do with the incident that got him ejected from the NFL combine earlier this month.

Foster, a first-team All-American and the Butkus Award winner as the country's top linebacker last season, has been projected as an early-to-mid first round pick in next month's NFL draft. However, according to a story published Tuesday by SI's Monday Morning Quarterback, there are concerns among pro teams about Foster's ability to learn NFL defenses.

From the story:

The major concern with Foster for NFL teams, beyond the off-field questions, is his ability to absorb a playbook. Foster has struggled in interviews with teams who ask him to draw concepts with X's and O's. "I've been working to get better," Foster says. "Other people learn different, other people have ADHD, or have a learning disorder. X's and O's on boards is hard to do for me. I second-guess myself."

He performs best when watching film and learning on the field, [Nick] Saban says. "If you put on the film he'll be able to tell you chapter and verse because that's how he learned it."

In the story, Saban said he hopes whichever NFL team drafts Foster provides him with a "support network" similar to what he had at Alabama. Said Saban, "I think it's important that he has people around him who will provide him good direction, have good experience and the ability to anticipate what's happening, so you don't get these emotional responses to things that are insignificant."

The story does not minimize the Indianapolis incident, however, in which Foster got into a verbal dispute with a hospital worker, reportedly because he was being asked to wait too long for his NFL medical evaluation (Foster has apologized on multiple occasions, including again in the MMQB story). In fact, MMQB reports, at least one team picking in the top 15 has removed Foster from its draft board.

The story quotes an unnamed talent evaluator from that team thusly:

"He already had immaturity, issues with life skills. This is the same guy. We're not in the market."

The story also goes into great detail regarding Foster's childhood, including a harrowing 1996 incident in which Foster's father shot the then 19-month old Foster and his mother and fled. Danny Foster was arrested in Florida in February 2013, less than a week after Reuben signed with Alabama.

Saban told MMQB he never had a disciplinary issue with Foster during his time at Alabama, and considers him a good teammate who will be successful in the NFL.

"The things Reuben has dealt with, these are the kinds of things I never had to deal with growing up," Saban said. "But it's the kind of thing a lot of these guys have to overcome to fit in the world everyone expects them to fit in, and I think Reuben has made a lot of progress in that regard.

"When they write up your scouting report, they say 'and' when they're talking about all the good things, and they say 'but' when they get to the bad. As soon as you enter the draft, everybody is looking for reasons not to draft you."

You can read the full MMQB profile of Foster HERE.