NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – Former Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu said getting kicked out of LSU in 2012 was the best thing that happened to his football career during a candid discussion on his \u201cIn The Bayou\u201d podcast.<\/p>\n
Mathieu, known as the \u201cHoney Badger,\u201d was dismissed from LSU on Aug. 10, 2012, after multiple failed drug tests for marijuana use. He said coach Les Miles called him at 5 a.m. to deliver the news.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe getting kicked out of LSU was the reason I had a 12-year career,\u201d Mathieu said. \u201cHad you gone first round, won the Heisman, gave you $40 million, I\u2019d probably be living in Aruba right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Early marijuana use and failed tests<\/p>\n
Mathieu said he began using marijuana at age 12 during Hurricane Katrina while staying in Texas. By the time he reached LSU, he said he didn\u2019t care about drug tests and would sometimes smoke before taking them.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t really care to be honest with you,\u201d Mathieu said. \u201cA lot of times, bro, like they would drug test me. I would know it\u2019s coming and I would smoke before I go in there.\u201d<\/p>\n
He described trying various methods to pass drug tests, including using other people\u2019s urine and even drinking bleach mixed with Coca-Cola, which made him sick.<\/p>\n
Les Miles\u2019 emotional dismissal<\/p>\n
Mathieu said Miles was crying when he delivered the dismissal news at an athletic department building.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was like, man, I hate to do it, but it\u2019s out of my hands now,\u201d Mathieu recalled. \u201cBy the time I got back to my room, my whole team was at the room. It was like sitting on the stairs and shit.\u201d<\/p>\n
The dismissal came as LSU was ranked No. 1 heading into the 2012 season. Mathieu said he believed he would have won the Heisman Trophy that year.<\/p>\n
Arrest and rock bottom<\/p>\n
Several months after his dismissal, Mathieu was arrested for marijuana possession. He said police were excited about arresting him and called media to the station.<\/p>\n
\u201cI could hear them on the radio. And by the time we got to that station, man, they had so many media people out there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
NFL career and LSU reconciliation<\/p>\n
Despite falling to the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft, Mathieu had a successful 12-year career. He said one of his first acts after getting paid was donating $1 million to LSU alongside Patrick Peterson.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was sort of like a little flex,\u201d Mathieu said about the donation, which helped fund a players lounge named after him.<\/p>\n
Mathieu also discussed LSU\u2019s current transfer portal success under Lane Kiffin and the Saints\u2019 offseason plans during the podcast with co-host Terrell McCall.<\/p>\n
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