Charges Against WVU Running Back Wendell Smallwood Dropped

Charges were dropped against Mountaineer running back Wendell Smallwood today of witness intimidation. This comes on the heels of the suspect in the case, Zakee Lloyd admitting guilt in the murder charge against him. Smallwood was arrested and extradited to Delaware to face the charges against him in mid July. WVU has been mostly quiet about the situation. In the end the state of Delaware doesn't seem to have anything on him beyond talking to Lloyd on the phone about convincing a witness to recant their story.

It doesn't exactly make Smallwood out to be a choir boy, but it also doesn't appear that he did anything to warrant a suspension from the team. None has been mentioned by WVU or the coaching staff up to this point. From my point of view, it seems Smallwood was just a pawn to put leverage on Lloyd to get him to admit to the crime.

I'm happy to say that WVU let the process work itself out before making any sort of decision. The original reports that came out did not look good for Smallwood. However, this latest news doesn't seem nearly as bad as first reported. By all accounts, Smallwood will join the team for drills on Thursday.