Ainias Smith makes first comments after legal charges dropped

On Thursday, Texas A&M wide receiver Ainias Smith reacted to his newly dropped charges of DWI, carrying an unlawful weapon and possession of marijuana less than two ounces. Authorities arrested Smith a day before he was supposed to appear at SEC Media Days alongside his head coach Jimbo Fisher.

Although it took until Thursday for news to break of the dropped charges, the Aggies reinstated him on Monday after doing their own due diligence.

“All charges have been dropped and I’m definitely very thankful for that,” Smith told reporter Aaron Wilson in a telephone interview Thursday night. “I got reinstated to the team Monday, so that feels pretty good … It feels good to know they had my back with everything that’s been going on. I’ve been trying to stay focused. I definitely want to give a big shout-out to God for sticking with me through this whole thing and never turning his back to me.

“I want to give a big thanks to Jimbo Fisher,” Smith continued. “He lifted my suspension on Monday before the dismissal. They had faith in me. Jimbo wanted to make sure I stayed positive and had a good mental state. I appreciate Mr. Ross (Bjork). He lifted my suspension. We had a genuine conversation … He got to the bottom of the situation … never judged me. He was trying to get to the truth. (Bjork) said, ‘you seem like a really genuine person and a good young man.'”

Aggie faithful stick by wideout following arrest

Although the media jumped on the news of one of the SEC’s top returners getting detained, Smith says the Texas A&M faithful had his back.

“The media was trying to make me something that I’m not,” Smith said. “I’m really thankful for everybody, Ben Crenshaw especially, that played a role and had my back. The 12th Man, they supported me the whole time. Ten toes down. A lot of people were there for me. Man, it meant everything to me to be able to see that. My family was all the way behind me. Their support system was so strong. They were always checking up on me. My parents, my brother, my nephew and my brother’s girlfriend all stuck me. It meant everything to me.”

Smith’s attorney, Craig A. Greening, praised the county attorney’s office for going through the process, which can take more than a month, quickly. Smith can now focus on fall camp and the 2022 season.

“I’ve prosecuted and defended DWI cases for 25 years, and after I read the police report, I said, ‘He’s not guilty of the DWI charge,'” Greening said in an interview. “The passenger admitted possession of the marijuana. The gun charge is moot, nothing to it. They said we have to see all the evidence. And that routinely can take a long time, but this was processed quickly.”

Charges dropped versus Ainias Smith

Smith was arrested on July 20 for driving while intoxicated, carrying an unlawful weapon and marijuana possession, the Houston Chronicle’s Brent Zwerneman first reported.

At SEC Media Days last week, Jimbo Fisher said he couldn’t comment or provide an update on Smith because of the investigation. The Aggies suspended Smith after the arrest, per school policy.

Last year, Smith played a key role in the Aggies offense and looked primed for a big year in 2022. He had a team-high 47 receptions for 509 yards and six touchdowns as Texas A&M went 8-4 overall and 4-4 in SEC play.

There have been outlets to name Smith to preseason All-American teams and he was even identified as one of six players not receiving enough NFL Draft attention by On3’s Matt Zenitz. He also received third-team preseason All-SEC honors from the media on July 22 when the league announced the preseason poll.