SEC Football history: 50 best players of all time

43. Best SEC football players of all time: Tyrann Mathieu, LSU football

Tyrann Mathieu’s college career may have ended on a sour note, as he was kicked off the LSU Tigers team due to disciplinary reasons, but he was an incredible player when he was eligible to play. Affectionately known as the “Honey Badger,” due to his prowess for getting turnovers, Mathieu was a ball-hawking safety for the Tigers for two seasons.

In fact, his 11 fumble recoveries are an SEC record, and he was so good at LSU that he was actually a finalist for the Heisman Trophy as a sophomore. Defensive players are nearly never a finalist for that prestigious trophy, which is an indicator of just how good this guy was at the collegiate level.

During the 2011 college football season, Mathieu was a key on an LSU team that would go on to win the SEC title. The SEC’s Defensive Player of the Year that season, he was a consensus All-American, while also taking home the Chuck Bednarik Award, given to the best defensive player in college football.

The MVP of the SEC title game, Mathieu and the Tigers would lose to Alabama in the national title game, his final appearance for the LSU football program. His stint may have been short, but you cannot write the history of the SEC without the Honey Badger.