Natson’s dismissal the right move

In his three seasons with Utah State football, JoJo Natson provided a shot in the arm to the Aggies’ special teams unit and used his speed on offense to haul in 127 career receptions.

For some, the first-team all-Mountain West punt returner’s dismissal from the team for “violating team rules” means the disappointing loss of a special teams spark. For me, it means USU football continues to move in the right direction.

There are countless universities that give athletes free passes on things “normal” students would never get away with, be it academic cheating, special privileges, or simply not knowing when to stop handing out strikes and start taking real action. Utah State’s football program gives out its share of strikes, but also knows the limit, and Natson breached it.

I know how that must sound, and to be clear, I in no way enjoy seeing Natson go. He was one of the toughest guys on the team — he had to be, he weighed all of 150 pounds. I’ll always remember watching from the press box last season in Laramie as he maneuvered around yellow Cowboys jerseys in a gear nobody else on the field could hope to match. After the game Natson said he was just happy someone finally kicked him a returnable ball. He seemed like someone who loved the game of football, and you never want to see a guy like that walk out the door.

That makes Coach Wells’ decision to dismiss him all the more praiseworthy. Wells runs a tight ship, and USU’s new Athletic Director John Hartwell is no different. Both want what’s best for USU football, as well as the individual athletes that make up the team. Both also seem to realize that keeping a great player is not worth the poor example it would set for future Aggies.

I’d much rather cheer for an organization willing to make difficult choices with its troubled athletes than read stories about how it’s being handled “in-house” — which is PR language for “it’s none of your damn business how we handled it.” I applaud Utah State for not sweeping this one under the rug, as it was undoubtedly tempting to do. USU isn’t the most transparent football program, but its willingness to dismiss a player like Natson tells me every player on the field in a Utah State jersey this fall will deserve to be there.

The analytical part of me wants to look at what his absence does to our offense, how we replace him on special teams and how that will affect our average field position and ultimately our defense. It’s not about the on-field changes, though. Natson’s departure needs to be thought of as bigger than football, almost as one would consider the loss of an athlete to injury. Though not physical in nature, Natson’s ailment is a spotty history with the rules. Perhaps getting kicked off the team will be for his benefit, as I’m sure the coaching staff and Aggie fans alike hope it will be.