"Honey Badger" awaits Gators in Baton Rouge
Published: Wednesday, October 5, 2011 at 10:59 p.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, October 6, 2011 at 6:15 p.m.
The list is hardly a who's who of college football powers — Louisiana-Monroe, Florida International, Miami of Ohio. It makes you wonder why nobody else saw this in him, why nobody wanted him.
Les Miles did.
And anybody who thinks the LSU coach is a little loopy needs only to look at the “Honey Badger” for a counter-argument.
Tyrann Mathieu was a four-star recruit according to Rivals. Yet the only scholarship offers coming in during his senior year at New Orleans St. Augustine High were from mid-majors.
“Maybe it was my size,” he said. “That's the only thing I can think of.”
Mathieu is listed at 5-foot-9, which means he's probably closer to 5-8. There aren't a lot of 5-8 cornerbacks playing at an elite level in college football.
But Miles saw something in Mathieu. Miles saw Mathieu in a camp at LSU and “fell in love with the way he played.”
He offered.
“It didn't take me three seconds to commit,” Mathieu said.
And now he is here, two years later with a YouTube video gone viral and his name under consideration by Heisman Trophy voters.
The video likens Mathieu to a honey badger, a species named the most fearless animal in the world by the Guinness Book of World Records. Honey badgers eat cobras, which is all you need to know.
Honey badgers are also skilled diggers and Mathieu has shown a penchant for the ability as well, digging through arms to dislodge footballs. He is already — as a sophomore — the SEC's career leader in forced fumbles with nine. Twice this year he has dug up a fumble and returned it for a score.
“Some players see the ball and they don't know if they can get it out,” Mathieu said. “In that split second, you never know what a player is going to do. It's a personality I've grown to develop that I'm always looking for the ball.
“I play with a lot of confidence.”
Mathieu also has three interceptions for his career, six sacks, five fumble recoveries, 13 passes defended and is averaging 10.3 yards per punt return.
“Guys who routinely make those plays, they envision those plays before they happen,” said Miles. “They see things happen before they happen. There are few of those guys.”
In a practice last week as the Tigers got ready for Kentucky, Mathieu had eight interceptions.
“He's always a step ahead of you,” said LSU quarterback Jarrett Lee. “His football IQ is so high. And he comes to work hard.”
So much of what can happen to a player depends on his mentoring when he is young and Mathieu struck gold at LSU. On his second day on campus, he was pulled off to the side by All-America cornerback Patrick Peterson.
“He told me to get ready,” Mathieu said. “I was thinking he was talking about studying the playbook. He didn't. He told me to get ready to make big plays. I've wanted to match him ever since.”
Mathieu certainly has Florida's attention. LSU leads the SEC with a plus-12 in turnover margin and the sophomore deserves a big share of the credit for that. And for a coach who preaches turnover margin as the most important stat in the game, Will Muschamp knows all about No. 7.
So do his players.
“We have to know where he's at," said UF guard Jon Halapio said. "He's a real good player. He's the defensive standout player that we see on film, so we're going to have to watch out for him."
You know who really has to watch out for him? Jeff Driskel.
The true freshman quarterback is expected to make his first start in his college football career Saturday in Baton Rouge.
The “Honey Badger” can't wait.
“We're licking our chops,” he said. “We know he's a freshman. We know he's surrounded by a bunch of good players, but we want to rattle that guy.”
Uh-oh.
Welcome to Red Stick. You can leave that football on your way out.
Contact Pat Dooley at 352-374-5053 or at dooleyp@gvillesun.com. And follow at Twitter.com/Pat_Dooley.
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