Tyrann Mathieu Must Be Praised for Becoming a Great Person, Undersized Superstar

LSU defensive back and Heisman finalist Tyrann Mathieu has been arguably the top defensive player in the country this season.

But it's the person he's become that is far more important.

As Thayer Evans of Fox Sports wrote on Thursday, Mathieu's life story is remarkable. His father was convicted of murder when he was two years old. His grandfather and source of inspiration, Lorenzo, died at the age of 54. Also, he grew up with his maternal uncle and aunt while his mother, Tyra, raised her other four children.

Mathieu says it's hard to talk about his mother, still unclear why she raised her other four children and not him. When asked whether his father was still alive while serving his sentence at Louisiana State Penitentiary, Mathieu said he didn't know.

"I could care less," he said.

But it is Mathieu's hardships and struggles that have defined him as a person, much less a football player.

One of his maternal uncles, Miguel, told Fox Sports.com:

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"I think when you have something that is burning inside of you, it sometimes comes out in ways that can't be expressed.

"He remembers a lot more than what people think. I know that's where a lot of that passion comes from in the way he plays."

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In addition to Mathieu's rough past, he was also a smaller player coming out of St. Augustine High School. It was a main reason why Alabama coach Nick Saban and then-Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin didn't offer him a scholarship, despite that fact that he would intentionally slip on the field just so quarterbacks wouldn't fear throwing his way.

That was how dominant he was in high school.

Since then, he's followed up a solid freshman season with one of the most dominant seasons defensively that we've seen in a long time.

He has had some hiccups along the way, of course. I say "of course" because nothing has ever been easy for Mathieu. In October, he was suspended for LSU's game against Auburn after testing positive for synthetic marijuana.

Miguel said he thought it was because of all the stress Mathieu was under.

Said Miguel, "I think it was the pressure of all his success happening fast."

College football observers got so caught up in Mathieu's success on the field that we never figured anything could have been wrong off it. But it was quite the opposite: Mathieu's hard life may have actually attributed to the player and person he's become.

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

That saying couldn't be more appropriate than for Tyrann Mathieu.

Mathieu's character surpasses his play on the field, and he should be celebrated for the person he's become before anything else.