Ex-LSU cornerback Mathieu takes aim at comeback

Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS

Former LSU star Tyrann Mathieu thought he hit rock bottom when Les Miles kicked him off the team last August for failing multiple drug tests.

He was wrong. Eleven weeks later, Mathieu and three of his ex-teammates were arrested at his Baton Rouge apartment for marijuana possession.

Now, after undergoing drug treatment and seeking counseling, Mathieu is trying to restore his reputation and return to the game he loves.

“I know what it’s like not to have football, I know what it’s like not to be the center of attention, I know what it’s like to be humiliated and I’m not going down that road again,” Mathieu said Sunday at the NFL’s annual scouting combine in Indianapolis.

It’s certainly not the path Mathieu expected to take into the NFL.

A year ago, the hotshot cornerback with the catchy nickname “Honey Badger” was considered a Heisman Trophy front-runner.

Instead, he wound up in a two-week drug treatment program run by former NBA player John Lucas and tried to rebuild his image even as it continued to take hits.

When police searched Mathieu’s apartment in October, they found a marijuana grinder, a digital scale and 10 bags of high-grade marijuana, seven of which were in another ex-LSU’s teammate’s book bag.

“That’s when I decided to go to rehab,” Mathieu said.

Since then, Mathieu insists he’s cleaned things up — pointing to the fact he sought out counseling, got a sponsor and has refocused his efforts on making it in the NFL.

His height, he measured in at just under 5-foot-9, and his troubled history that are raising red flags among team decision-makers.

A month ago, some analysts thought the laundry list of problems might leave Mathieu undrafted in April. Now, his stock is rising again and he’s in Indianapolis like most of the other 300-plus draft hopefuls — trying to assuage doubts about themselves.

It’s a tricky journey with a potential pitfall in every answer.