FAYETTEVILLE — A couple weeks after committing an inexcusable personal foul against Tulsa, Nate Dalton is no longer on the team, head coach Chad Morris announced Wednesday.
The redshirt junior cornerback was penalized for slapping a Tulsa punt returner’s helmet well after he fair caught the ball and the whistle had blown. Morris was seen yelling at him on the sideline and ultimately sent him to the locker room for the rest of the game.
“He has chosen to step back and focus on his academics,” Morris said. When asked if it was his own decision or if it was encouraged, he reiterated, “He has chosen to step back.”
A three-star recruit coming out of Cypress Falls in Houston, Dalton turned down offers from Kentucky, Michigan, Oklahoma, Washington State and others to play for the Razorbacks. However, he never lived up to his 5.7 rating.
Most of Dalton’s playing time has come on special teams, where he made four tackles over 12 games from 2016 to 2017. Through seven games this year, he had seven tackles. Dalton did get some time on defense earlier in the season, playing 74 snaps, according to Pro Football Focus.
Dalton’s departure puts the Razorbacks at 81 scholarship players this season. He joins offensive lineman Dylan Hays, who retired for medical reasons, and wide receiver Jonathan Nance and linebacker Kyrei Fisher, who took advantage of the new four-game redshirt rule and are transferring.
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