Vanderbilt football: Daniel Martin, Maurice Edwards no longer on team

Vanderbilt football running back Maurice Edwards and linebacker Daniel Martin are no longer part of the team.

"We take pride in having the highest standards as a program, and in doing so ensure that it is a privilege to be a part of this team," coach Clark Lea said in a school release Wednesday.

"A strong ecosystem will undoubtedly strengthen our program's performance on and off the field, and this ecosystem is my responsibility. We wish Maurice and Daniel the very best in their journeys forward."

Martin, a four-star recruit, was the highest-rated commit in the Commodores' 2022 class who signed early with the program. Edwards was a three-star recruit.

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On the SEC coaches' teleconference on Wednesday, Lea said: "It’s never a fun aspect of — a good day when you have to make these decisions, hard decisions. ... With respect to what it means for us moving forward, this program is going to be fine, we’re not defined by any one individual within the program. We found success as we've realized the collective effort required to win and so we have a lot of guys in the locker room that we lean upon that are going to step into roles that will help us moving forward and we won't bat an eye."

Neither player played in the opener against Hawaii and they seemed likely to redshirt in 2022, but they were expected to be big contributors going forward as part of Vanderbilt's top recruiting class since 2013.

Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on Twitter @aria_gerson.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Vanderbilt football players Martin, Edwards no longer part of team