FAYETTEVILLE — Defensive back Nate Dalton is no longer on the Arkansas football team.
"He has chosen to step back and focus on his academics," Arkansas coach Chad Morris said prior to Wednesday's practice.
Asked whether Dalton had been removed from the program, Morris said Dalton made the decision to leave voluntarily.
Dalton has not played since the first half of the Razorbacks' 23-0 win over Tulsa on Oct. 20. Dalton was assessed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for slapping Tulsa punt returner Jarion Anderson in the head after Anderson called for a fair catch, and Dalton was subsequently sent to the locker room by Morris.
He was not on the Razorbacks' game-day roster for the Vanderbilt game on Oct. 27.
"We have a standard and I’m not going to deviate," Morris said about Dalton's suspension prior to the Vanderbilt game.
Dalton, a redshirt junior from Baton Rouge, La., has played in 12 games at Arkansas, primarily on special teams. He had 11 career tackles, including seven this season with a high of two in a loss at Colorado State.
Dalton is the fourth scholarship player to leave the Arkansas program since the beginning of the season. Receiver Jonathan Nance, cornerback Chevin Calloway and linebacker Kyrei Fisher played in fewer than four games and are eligible to redshirt under new NCAA rules.