Arkansas vs LSU: One-on-One with Tyrann Mathieu, What Can't Honey Badger Do?

The Arkansas Razorbacks found out first hand yesterday that LSU’s Honey Badger is back and he has no limits when it comes to making big plays on the football field.

The Tigers were down 14-0 early against the Razorbacks and were able to mount a drive, put seven points on the board and force the Hogs to punt with 3:24 left in the first half. All that was racing through sophomore cornerback Tyrann Mathieu’s head was "give me a chance."

“I think that’s the thought process you have to have,”  Mathieu said. “When you get that chance to make that big play, you want to capitalize.”

His chance came and he did just that. Mathieu took the punt 92 yards and raced into the end zone. Not only did he change the game with his electrifying punt return, but he was all over the field making tackles and forced two fumbles.

Standing next to him after the game, I was even more impressed. The guy who has been making one big play after another all season long was smaller than I was. Mathieu is 5-foot-9 and 175 pounds and he’s forced 12 turnovers in 24 career collegiate games. How is this guy able to make such an impact on the game every single week?

“I really can’t explain it. It’s just me going out there and trying to fight for victory for my team,” Mathieu said.

Mathieu has what you can’t teach players and that’s football instincts. I said it before the season, and I’ve said it all season long: this guy is a bonafide playmaker. Wherever he lines up on the field, he’s still able to make an impact on the game.

The Tigers even played Mathieu at safety for a series or two and that’s when I really started to question what his limits where. Mathieu said he never played safety before and practiced to play there all week, but he wouldn’t admit that it was difficult.

That’s just not in the Honey Badger’s DNA to admit that something is demanding. Instead his teammate senior safety Brandon Taylor busted him out.

“He came to the sideline and said it’s hard to play run fit at safety because you’re coming down so fast and the running back’s coming at you, and I said ‘you just have to relax,’” Taylor said.

Even after Taylor joked about Mathieu playing safety, he marveled at the playmaking abilities of LSU’s superstar as well. He even said that Mathieu now knows the scheme better after having played safety.

Mathieu, Taylor and the rest of this LSU football team shine brightest when the stakes are higher. They’ve played seven ranked opponents and have impressed the nation in every single performance.

“Every big game we’ve played in, we’ve turned people’s heads. It doesn’t matter who we play,”  Mathieu said.

There’s no doubt that the team has turned heads, but Mathieu has been a large factor in turning those heads. In fact, ESPN’s College Gameday analyst Desmond Howard tweeted about Mathieu’s performance following the game.

He tweeted, “Tyrann Mathieu is the most impressive player in college football this year.” I asked Mathieu what he thought about the flattering remarks from the college football legend and he responded exactly how you expect a champion to respond.

“You want to be remembered as one of the best ever,” Mathieu said.

In only his second year at LSU, he’s certainly on his way to making a case for that title.

Jake Martin is a Featured Columnist of Bleacher Report and a sports writer for the Concordia Sentinel in Ferriday, LA. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained first-hand or from official interview materials from the Concordia Sentinel.