When news broke last Friday that something big was going on at LSU speculation spread like wild fire as to what it could be. With so many different playmakers and potential problems people couldn’t help themselves when wondering who did what and how bad was it? Then the news leaked and we all found out that the Honey Badger, Tryann Mathieu, had been dismissed by LSU for a violation of school rules.
The question everybody wants to know is what is next for the tenacious CB with the best nickname in all of sports? The talented and undersized Mathieu is apparently eligible to play in 2012 but only if he drops down to the FCS or lower level.
Late Friday his former teammate Josh Jasper tweeted that Mathieu had decided to transfer to McNeese State but that was later revealed to not be totally true. McNeese State is indeed a school Mathieu is looking into but he is not set to transfer there yet.
On Saturday it was revealed that Mathieu has three schools he has chosen as front runners for his services in 2012. They are McNeese State, Jackson State, and Prairie View A&M.
McNeese State is a FCS school that plays in the Southland Conference. That conference is home to the defending national runner-ups in Sam Houston State and is considered to be one of the most competitive conferences in the country. They are a heavy favorite to contend for their conference title and get into the playoffs. They feature a NFL caliber prospect in safety Macolm Bronson and have a history of taking troubled transfers as former Vols DB Janzen Jackson ended up playing there. McNeese would give Mathieu the best shot at winning a national title and already will have plenty of NFL teams flocking to Lake Charles.
Jackson State plays in the SWAC conference and is only now eligible for postseason play after being banned last year due to APR scores being too low. Mathieu would be a good fit here because Jackson State is a favorite to win the SWAC this year, they have plenty of other transfers on campus, and they have one of the best pass rushers in the country in senior DE Joseph LeBeau. Mathieu could slide into an already very strong defense and have a legit shot at winning a SWAC Championship. Mathieu would not however have a shot at winning a National Championship because SWAC teams do not choose to participate in the FCS playoff system.
Finally we have Prairie View A&M who is also in the SWAC but is not considered a contender to win the conference. This choice by Mathieu is probably the worst fit as Prairie View does not have a very good history of putting players into the NFL. Their best defender from last year in Adrian Hamilton is now gone, and they will struggle to be above .500 this year. Mathieu would easily be there best player but he’d have to potentially help make up for the lack of talent those around him would have.
Mathieu has reportedly already visited McNeese State and intends to visit Jackson State. If I was advising Mathieu my advice would be simple, go to Jackson State. They are outside of Louisiana and away from all your past trouble, they are the best defense among the three choices and they have a history of taking in transfers and making them into very good ball players. In addition to that you avoid the FCS playoffs which can carry over into January and you have more time to train for the NFL.
No matter where Mathieu goes we expect it to only be for one year as he will be eligible to leave school early for the 2013 NFL Draft.
For all his small school updates, NFL Draft analysis and more, be sure to follow Matthew on Twitter @MatthewCElder.
