INDIANAPOLIS – JoJo Natson wanted to set the record straight. Yes, he’s small. Just not that small.

So upon meeting reporters for the first time since signing with the Indianapolis Colts, the undrafted free agent set out to establish a few facts. Yes, he was listed at 5-7 and 159 pounds by NFL scouts entering the draft.

“But that was my pro day weight and I hadn’t eaten a heavy breakfast,” the former University of Akron receiver said. “I’m usually 160, 162 on a good day.”

Predictably, laughter ensued.

But don’t take Natson for a joke. He is very serious about this bid to make the Colts roster. And the longer you listen, the more convincing he becomes.

“I pride myself in having heart,” he said. “That’s something they can’t take away from me. I might look 5-7, 160, but I definitely don’t play like 5-7, 160.”

What could the Colts possibly see in a guy who, when soaking wet, is still 20 pounds lighter than bit-sized Colts wideout T.Y. Hilton?

MORE FROM COLTS MINICAMP

• Big man from a small school

• Big man, big personality, big challenges?

For one thing, they see a player with deadly speed (Natson claims a fastest 40-yard dash time of 4.38 seconds).

“Speed kills,” he said.

The Colts also see a dogged competitor who is a wonder on special teams as a punt returner. If Natson is going to make a legitimate push to make the roster, that is going to be his primary role. Colts special teams coordinator Tom McMahon was a proponent of adding Natson after he went undrafted. The first team All-Mid-American Conference punt returner was second in the nation last season with 16.3 yards per attempt.

“One of the best returners coming out this year,” Colts coach Chuck Pagano said.

Natson added: “Give me the ball and some space and I’ll make something happen.”

Still, when you first lay eyes on Natson, it’s jarring. He’s sharing a locker room with guys like fourth-round pick Zach Banner, one of the NFL’s largest human beings at 6-9 and more than 340 pounds. To be blunt, he looks like he doesn’t belong.

While it might take some getting used to for the rest of us, this kind of thing is old hat for Natson. He’s the smallest guy on the team – just as he’s always been.



“I’ve been playing since I was six,” he said. “From everything from Pop Warner to high school, I’ve always been the smallest guy on the team. But the smallest guy was making all the plays and helping my teammates (win). So, obviously something good was coming out of it at the same time. I’ve just been blessed with this speed and athletic ability I have to prove people wrong.”

He’ll have to show some skills as a receiver to stick around, too. That’s where things can get dicey for a guy his size. Aggressive press-coverage cornerbacks will have a decided advantage over a player like Natson. Or so they might think, anyway.

Natson insists he can beat press coverage by eluding it in the first place. That's one time when his size might prove an advantage. It certainly sounds good in theory.

“They have to get their hands on me,” Natson said. “I have speed and I use my speed to my advantage. … You can’t (stop) something you can’t catch, so that’s the motto I live by.”

You can only imagine the confidence it takes to play a game this violent when you lack something as fundamental as requisite size. Heck, the Colts are actually making a determined effort to find bigger receivers, “because we’re small,” Pagano said.

What is it that allows Natson to level the playing field? What is it that enables him to challenge the laws of physics, which long ago established that mass times velocity equals force?

Just listen to him and you’ll see.

“Confidence is key,” Natson said. “Like I said, you can’t measure heart. I feel like that’s what got me along. I might see a guy in front of me 6 feet tall, and it doesn’t really put fear in my heart. I just compete because every time someone lines up in front of me, I just think about those naysayers (saying), ‘He’s too small.’”

Just not that small.

Follow Colts Insider Stephen Holder onTwitter andFacebook.

YOU CAN'T MEASURE HEART

• 49 players (excluding kickers and punters) have been listed at 5-8, 165 or smaller and appeared in 16 NFL games, according to pro-football-reference.com.

• 23 of those players began their careers in 1926 or earlier.

• Two such players were active last season: Jakeem Grant (5-6, 165) and Nickell Robey-Coleman (5-8, 165).

• The best player is likely Mark McMillan, a 5-7, 154-pound cornerback for Philadelphia, New Orleans, Kansas City, Washington and San Francisco from 1992-99. He appeared in 127 games (81 starts) with 384 tackles and 23 interceptions .

• Jason David (5-8, 165) was a cornerback for the Colts from 2004-06, starting 43 games and making eight interceptions. He also played two seasons with New Orleans.

• Willard Harrell (5-8, 162) is the top rusher with 1,378 yards between 1975-84 with Green Bay and St. Louis; Stephen Baker the top receiver at 2,587 yards from 1987-92 with the New York Giants; and Michael Lewis (5-8, 165) leads in kickoff return yardage (5,989, 3 TDs) and punt return yardage (1,818, 1) for New Orleans and San Francisco from 2001-07.