A veteran Penn State football player was charged on Monday with driving under the influence of marijuana.
Amin A. Vanover, a 23-year-old defensive end for the Nittany Lions, was pulled over just after midnight on Aug. 8 on Waupelani Drive in State College for an expired registration plate on his 2021 Dodge Charger, according to the affidavit of probable cause filed by borough police.
The car and Vanover’s clothing smelled of marijuana and his “pupils appeared to be bloodshot and sleepy,” police wrote. Vanover, who was the sole occupant of the vehicle, told an officer that his friends had smoked marijuana in the car, according to the complaint.
Vanover then failed field sobriety and drug impairment detection tests and was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of marijuana, police wrote.
He was taken to Mount Nittany Medical Center for a blood draw, which tested positive for THC in a lab analysis, according to the affidavit.
Vanover is charged with two misdemeanor counts of DUI of a controlled substance and was cited for driving an unregistered vehicle.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 2.
A Penn State Athletics spokesperson said the department is aware of the charges.
“These alleged actions do not reflect the values and standards of our program and will be addressed,” the spokesperson wrote in an email. “We will not comment any further as this is an ongoing legal matter.”
Vanover was active during the media viewing window at Penn State practice on Tuesday evening. Coach James Franklin declined afterward to comment on what, if any, discipline Vanover may face from the program.
“We’ve released a statement on it, but I don’t think there’s been many times where I’ve actually told you guys what the internal punishment was gonna be,” Franklin said.
Vanover has played in both of Penn State’s games this season, recording two assisted tackles. He played 33 snaps in the season-opener at West Virginia and 28 last weekend against Bowling Green, both of which were third most among Nittany Lion defensive ends.
He is in his fifth year at Penn State and has played in a total of 31 games.
StateCollege.com’s Seth Engle contributed to this report.
