The news when it comes to the Utah State football program isn’t limited to an automobile accident.
The Aggies announced very early Monday morning in a press release that JoJo Natson has been dismissed from the football program. Not surprisingly, the reason for the dismissal is your garden-variety violation of unspecified team rules.
“We are extremely disappointed anytime we have to make a decision regarding the future of one of our student-athletes,” head coach Matt Wells said in a statement. “We will continue to support JoJo as he moves forward in his career.”
Natson’s forced departure will serve as blow to both the Aggies’ offense and special teams.
Last season, Natson’s 51 receptions and 504 receiving yards were second on the team. For that, he was named honorable mention All-Mountain West.
Additionally, Natson earned first-team All-MWC honors as a punt returner as he ranked first in the conference and tied for third in the nation with two punt returns for touchdowns, and first in the MWC and 10th in the nation in punt returns (11.7 ypr).
Oh, and, for good measure, Natson carried the ball 50 times for 498 yards (10.0 ypc) with three touchdowns in 2014.
And then there’s this tidbit from the school: “Natson... was the only FBS player in the nation during both the 2013 and 2014 seasons to record multiple touchdowns rushing, receiving and returning as he had three rushing touchdowns, two receiving touchdowns and two punt return touchdowns as both a sophomore and junior.”
Suffice to say, he -- and his production -- will be missed.