SmashMouth

The knee jerk reaction to the announcement that former LSU defensive back Tyrann Mathieu plans to enter the NFL draft is trepidation.


Odds are if you are reading this, you know his story and it is one that is rooted around his inability to control himself and his destructive urges that ultimately shame him out of LSU.
This is not the platform to discuss whether or not his apparent zeal for high grade marijuana is not as bad as people make it out to be.

Instead, look to several incidents one being as recently as last month to curb your enthusiasm as to how successful this kid will be in the big time.

Somebody will take him at some point. He may not get the position that the was going to get prior to all of this foolishness but he will get scooped by somebody that will kick his tires and give him a go.



If he has kept himself even somewhat together since he was jettisoned from LSU’s football program, he has NFL-quality talent as a kick returner and a nickel cornerback.

But as a twenty-year-old that is struggling with saying no to situations that are not a good look for him, how can he come out of this as a success story?

“I am sorry that I was not able to complete my journey at LSU, but I will always support LSU in any way I can,” Mathieu said in a statement. “To my teammates, you are my brothers. You have kept me going. I will do my best to make you all proud of me.”

“I am committed to tackling my personal issues and will work to better myself every day as a man first and only then as a football player. I will always consider myself an LSU Tiger,” Mathieu said.

Let’s look at a few situations that may need his services and point to which one give him the best chance to succeed longterm.

The Detroit Lions –The Lions are desperate for secondary help and improved special teams play. However, their locker room lacks the veteran leadership to guide him amongst his peers.

The coaching staff has shown that they are having a hard time keeping their house in order. For Mathieu this has worst case scenario written all over it.

The Philadelphia Eagles –The Eagles’ secondary will not be the same next year.

Matter of fact, that entire team and coaching staff is about to be gutted. So it’s hard to predict how well he would fit in there, but it’s doubtful that the team will have the structure or the desire to take on such a project as they rebuild.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are an interesting scenario. There are zero big city distractions to steer him away from football and there are a few positive veteran influences in that locker room that can help him out.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Tampa is the ideal landing spot for HB. They have a tough-love style coach in Greg Schiano that has very recent college experience.

He knows how to work with young men and get their minds right. If the aging Ronde Barber plays next year, Mathieu will have a mentor at his position that can do for him what Chris Carter did for a young Randy Moss.

Miami Dolphins- The Dolphins need cornerbacks but the city’s nightlife would most likely crush the young man before training camp was over.

The temptation that resides on South Beach is relentless. Coach Joe Philbin seems to operate with a ‘one-strike and you’re gone ‘policy so the Dolphins appear to be his quickest path out of the NFL if were to screw-up.

The Chicago Bears- As stated Mathieu’s best asset as a NFL employee will come in the special teams department.

Prior to his concussion, the greatest-to-ever-do-it Devin Hester seemed to lose a step and has yet to revisit the magic of his past.

The Bears have strong-willed veterans to spare and coach Lovie Smith has can always make use of a shifty corner that blitz.

The Bears are nearly as good of a fit for him as the Buccaneers are.

At least two of these teams will show an interest in him based on what their current needs are now and hopefully he can find himself involved with a group that can help him go to the next level as both a player and as a man.

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Danno

He looks short. How tall is he really?

stickman

Obviously someone will give him a shot. Whether or not he makes it remains to be seen. Best of luck to him. But, hey, if weed is more important to him than football, he can't blame anyone but himself.

SmashMouth

Just a wild guess... at least 4 feet 21 inches or so!

|Mitch|

He's 5'9", too short and not enough weight to be effective in Spags press scheme...

mutineer10

Too short to be an effective starting DB in today's NFL. But he's a playmaker, there's no denying that. He could become a valuable special-teamer, and spot nickle DB for some team.

... or he could just be another waste of talent. It's up to him.

SloMotion

Too high maintenance. I think the only NFL coaches that could do something with him would be Harbaugh, Conklin or Bellichek. He goes anywhere else and he's gonna' be just another story on the evening news. Bet.

Crusader

Look for him to end up with the Bengals and have an impact at Nickle at returner for them.