Penn State Football: WR Devon Smith Might Have an Excuse in Drug Raid Incident

Last week, reports surfaced that the apartment of WR Devon Smith and former DE Jack Crawford had been raided by campus police, resulting in the seizure of drugs, paraphernalia and one bottle of liquor. The raid itself happened on March 12, but the report only came out on March 26—the same day Bill O'Brien found out about it—and since then, there's been silence from the Penn State camp.

What's notable is that Devon Smith has been practicing with the team—which is to say he's not suspended. That seems odd considering that his place of residence has been directly connected with drugs. But then, over the weekend, Crawford's agent took the opportunity to distance Crawford from both the drugs and the apartment itself—and in the process, he may have indicated how Smith could avoid charges too. From Pro Football Talk:

"From December 2011 forward, Mr. Crawford did not reside at the apartment in question at any time,” said Eastern Athletic Services in a statement.  “Mr. Crawford was assigned one of the rooms in that four person apartment in August 2011 as part of his football scholarship and was given permission by the University to reside in that apartment as he chose.  Mr. Crawford lived in that apartment during the fall semester of what was his senior year. That semester ended in December 2011.

"That same month, Mr. Crawford and his Penn State teammates left for the Ticket City Bowl in Dallas, Texas. From that point forward, Mr. Crawford never again resided at the apartment in question.  After the Ticket City Bowl, Mr. Crawford played in college all-star games, attended several camps, participated in the NFL Combine in Indianapolis and was living with family outside of the State of Pennsylvania, where he continues to reside and will remain until after the NFL Draft."

Assuming the statement is accurate and that Crawford hasn't been at the apartment since December, there's no reason to think he was involved in the drugs in any way.

Smith doesn't have that excuse, but there is one key detail here that was missing from every other initial media report: they lived in a four-bedroom apartment. Knowing that, like nature, collegiate housing abhors a vacuum, it can be safely assumed that White was living with at least two other people (three if they found a replacement for Crawford in the 10 weeks between Crawford's departure from campus and the raid itself).

Since no other football players have been even mentioned in connection with this raid or apartment, it's also safe to assume that Smith's roommates are not football players and are thus less likely to be involved with Smith or Crawford in a significant way. So, if none of the confiscated materials were taken from Smith's bedroom, he might have enough plausible deniability of the goings-on that he'll avoid any trouble.

Still, that's largely speculation, and Penn State would be wise to address this situation as best as it can with respect to the investigation. It could also be the case that Smith ends up facing charges this afternoon. If the police haven't decided what's happening next, we're not about to pretend to know. But keep an eye out for this line of reasoning from Smith and PSU, especially if he ends up staying out of hot water over this incident.