Defensive linemen Maurice Evans and Abe Koroma and tight end Andrew Quarless will not suit up against Oregon State on Saturday, Joe Paterno said on his call-in radio show Thursday night.
The suspensions came two days after police said they found marijuana at Nittany Apartment 5204 where the three players live, according to a search warrant that cites university housing records.
Cornerback A.J. Wallace, who was named in the search warrant as the fourth resident of the apartment, will play because, Paterno said, he was not involved.
"Wallace will play. Wallace was really not part of that situation. But Evans, Quarless and Koroma were, and it's unfortunate," Paterno said.
"And if they do something as dumb as it appears they did -- and I'm not sure they did or they didn't yet -- but even being close to that kind of thing, I'm not going to play any one of those three kids this weekend."
No charges have been filed in connection with the incident.
The incident in question started Tuesday shortly after 8 p.m. when police said they responded to a complaint about loud music at apartment 5204.
Police obtained a search warrant, and following a more than five-hour-long investigation, Penn State Police Lt. Bill Moerschbacher said a "small amount" of marijuana was found in apartment 5204.
Moerschbacher said Tuesday drug charges will be filed soon. He also said there was no drug paraphernalia found in the apartment.
Moerschbacher could not specify who will be charged or what charges will be filed because he said police are still investigating who had possession of the marijuana. Once the investigation is complete, charges will be filed, he said.
Koroma's high school football coach, Bob Guyer, said he talked with Koroma over the phone Wednesday night, and Koroma assured him he was not involved. Guyer also said Koroma told him he took a drug test, but the results were not known as of press time.
"He's anxious for the blood test to come back. Hopefully that will, of course, demonstrate there was never any involvement there," he said. "My understanding is he was at a class and he was with his girlfriend that night.
"Abe indicated to me he was hoping that once the truth was determined and investigation done, it would be obvious there wasn't any sort of criminal offense on his part."
Guyer also said he trusts Paterno and said the coach has a reason for his decision.
"We have all the confidence in the world in the decision-making process related to Penn State football," Guyer said. "If it would not be appropriate [for Koroma] to represent the program this Saturday, then I'm sure that's the right decision at this point in time."
Penn State sports information director Jeff Nelson could not confirm if any players had been given drug tests.
Paterno did not indicate how long the players would be suspended because he said he did not know all of the information. But after the off-field events during the past year and a half, Paterno said the players need to be held accountable.
"My feeling on all of this is they have a responsibility to the program, a responsibility to themselves, to their family. They have a responsibility to their teammates," Paterno said. "We preach, preach, preach, and they stepped out of line. They deserve what they're gonna get, and whatever that's gonna be, I don't know."
Koroma started at defensive tackle against Coastal Carolina and recorded two tackles, while Evans finished with two stops as well.
Evans was also a preseason All-American after finishing 2007 with 54 tackles, 12.5 sacks and 21.5 tackles for loss.
Quarless caught one pass for eight yards last week.
Quarless received an underage drinking citation two weeks before the 2007 season and was arraigned on two counts of driving under the influence of alcohol and related violations in March 2008. He has since entered an Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (ARD) program.
