Joe Bachie didn’t get the chance to finish out his Michigan State career. The star linebacker and one of the top defenders in the B1G failed the conference’s banned substance test, resulting in his suspension for the remainder of the 2019 season, which was the final five games.

Bachie, who had become one of the B1G’s most intimidating linebackers during his career in East Lansing, played in eight games in his final season, totaling 71 stops, 8.5 tackles for loss, four pass break-ups and an interception.

Though he wasn’t able to finish his career as a Spartan, Bachie did receive an invitation to the NFL Scouting Combine this week. Over the next few days, the former MSU star will have a chance to improve his draft stock and prove he can be an asset to teams at the professional level.

On Thursday, Bachie met with reporters to talk about the week ahead, but was also asked about what happened with the failed test. Bachie says an over-the-counter supplement is what caused the problem.

“The whole drug test situation, it was an over-the-counter pre-workout [supplement]. I took it one time, six days before I was tested and that’s how it failed,” Bachie said at the NFL Scouting Combine. “The appeal process went through. Three weeks later I got tested again when I found out I failed. Perfectly clean. Went to appeal to the B1G office and it didn’t go through.”

Bachie said he then became like a coach with the team, and still attended meetings, workouts and the like for the remainder of the season.

In four years at Michigan State, Bachie collected 285 total tackles, 27.5 for loss, had five interceptions and forced five fumbles. He was a key member of one of the best defenses in the B1G.

Now that his college career is in the books, the linebacker is looking forward to moving forward and showing that he belongs in the NFL.