Les Miles confirmed today that dynamic LSU cornerback Tyrann Mathieu has been dismissed from the football team “permanently” according to his press conference. According to Ben Allbright (@NFLDraftMonster) Mathieu has failed 3 drug tests at LSU, including one this past week. That is apparently what prompted this stern action from Les Miles and LSU as a whole. If it is true that he has failed 3 drug tests it is my understanding that he will not be eligible to simply transfer down to a FCS level team, play for a season, and then enter the NFL Draft. The handling of this situation from the school will be very important to keep an eye on, because if they do not level disciplinary action on him (in the form of a suspension, etc) then according to John Infante (@John_Infante) he would be eligible to use a one time transfer exception to transfer to a FCS school. So we have to wait to see what the school does, and then we will have a better idea of how this will play out.
This is certainly a stunning development, I myself am a big fan of Mathieu and have been touting him as a dynamic player since I watched him during his true freshman season two years ago. He became a well known star as a sophomore, but he tested positive for synthetic marijuana which resulted in a suspension from LSU during the season last year. That didn’t dissuade Mathieu from continuing to use marijuana and now he has been dismissed from the team. Regardless of your stance on marijuana use, there is no doubt that it is sad to see a young man with a bright future in front of him see it go off the rails because of positive drug tests. He’s still a talented player that should be drafted in the 4th round range because of his on-field ability, but if he doesn’t turn it around and stay clean at whatever school he goes to (or if he doesn’t stay out of trouble if he isn’t allowed to play anywhere at all) then NFL teams are going to be even more wary of taking a chance on him even if he is supremely talented.
I’m wishing him the best in his future endeavors, and I hope he has a chance to play at a FCS school this year, but more than that I hope he can find a way to stay clean to avoid further jeopardizing his chance at a successful NFL career.
I will update this article as more information comes out and more details of this story are confirmed. At this time, we know that Mathieu will not be back at LSU and will have to hope for a FCS transfer.
**Update**
Reports are coming out that Tyrann Mathieu is transferring to McNeese State. I haven’t seen it confirmed by a major network like ESPN yet, but a photo came out of Mathieu allegedly from the McNeese State football facilities. I can’t say 100% that Mathieu will be at McNeese State, but that is what it looks like is going to happen. It makes sense because it is only 2 hours from LSU and only 3 hours from New Orleans where Mathieu is from. I’m glad Mathieu will be able to play this season (at least as far as we know right now) and attempt to rehabilitate his draft stock. Hopefully that goes better for Mathieu than it did for Janzen Jackson, who left after a year at McNeese State and went undrafted before signing with the Giants this offseason.
I will update this further as more information becomes available.
[...] Tyrann Mathieu* CB 5’9 175 – Mathieu finished fifth in voting for the 2011 Heisman trophy, and received 34 first place votes. He’s an absolute playmaker who goes for the strip any time he can. He has forced 11 fumbles and recovered eight of them (a staggering six forced fumbles and five recoveries just last season) in his college career. In 26 games, Mathieu has intercepted four passes, broken up 16 others, sacked the quarterback six times, and made 16 tackles for loss. Last year was his first returning punts, and he averaged 15.6 yards per return and scored two touchdowns. Mathieu is a fearless player who throws his body around. Considering his lack of size, durability will be a concern at the next level. While he has solid cover skills and has shown the ability to get up to break up throws, he lacks the height to play outside on every play at the pro level. Many folks peg Mathieu for a role in the slot, and that does appear to be his best fit. He can get muscled at the line of scrimmage by bigger receivers (Da’Rick Rogers of Tennessee for one), but his feisty demeanor will make him hard to fight off on every play. Meanwhile, he seems capable of shutting down, or at least frustrating the NFL’s smaller wide receivers. Mathieu is still only a junior, but most people expect this to be his final college season. (Editor’s note: On Friday 8/10/12, Mathieu was dismissed from the program for repeated violations of team rules.) [...]