Tyrann Mathieu Arrested
By Kyle Kensing
Tyrann Mathieu was among four former LSU football players arrested on drug charges Thursday afternoon, WAFB in Baton Rouge reports.
Mathieu was removed from the football team in August and entered a drug rehab in Houston. He remains an LSU student, and reportedly had aspirations of returning to the team in 2013.
The window for a Mathieu return might now be more narrow than the security gate through which former Tiger teammate and 2012 BCS championship game starting quarterback Jordan Jefferson tried to pass.
The 2011 Heisman Trophy finalist Mathieu’s absence from the LSU secondary is negligible. Mathieu was proficient in creating turnovers as a roving nickelback, but the Tigers remain among the nation’s leaders in takeaways.
The void he’s left in Tiger special teams is more noticeable. LSU was the No. 12 punt returning team a season ago, but this year ranks No. 65. Mathieu changed the tide of games against Arkansas and Georgia late in the 2011 campaign, bolstering his Heisman candidacy in the process.
Other high profile athletes have struggled to avoid repeated off-field trouble in the last few months. TCU quarterback Casey Pachall was recently suspended indefinitely for a DWI arrest, and later entered rehab. Pachall had admittedly to drug use a few months prior. Talented SEC running backs Michael Dyer and Isaiah Crowell were jettisoned from the conference after numerous missteps.
What lies ahead for Mathieu is obviously uncertain, though rejoining his LSU teammates seems less likely now.