Heisman Trophy finalist Tyrann Mathieu has been kicked off the LSU football team by head coach Les Miles for violating team policies.
"This issue is bad for one guy," Miles said in a Noon press conference on Friday. "An adjustment needs to be made," Miles said. "I think this is a quality, quality guy that had some behavior issues. I really think this is a redirect that will benefit him greatly. This is an opportunity for him to improve and put self in better position in the future."
While he would not go into detail on what policies were violated, Miles said that he can't imagine Mathieu will be in school and will likely transfer.
The news conference was originally scheduled for 6:30 p.m., but was moved to make the major announcement.
"This is a very difficult day for our team," Miles said in a statement released shortly after the news conference. "We lose a quality person, teammate and contributor to the program. However, with that being said, we have a standard that our players are held to and when that standard is not met, there are consequences.
"It's hard because we all love Tyrann. We will do what we can as coaches, teammates, and friends to get him on a path where he can have success. We are going to miss him."
Mathieu, a finalist for the Heisman Trophy and the nation's top defensive player a year ago, played in 26 games for the Tigers during his two years, racking up 133 total tackles, 16.0 tackles for loss and four interceptions. He also forced 11 fumbles, which ranks first in school history and seventh in NCAA history, to go with eight fumble recoveries.
Mathieu scored four touchdowns for the Tigers, two on punt returns and two on fumble returns.
The Honey Badger also made preseason award lists, including the Walter Camp and Jim Thorpe Watch Lists.
Mathieu said this year he would stop all social media "cold turkey" when the season started.
"I respect Coach, and whatever decision he makes I go along with it," Mathieu said. "There's a lot of guys on this team who are deserving of the spotlight. I don't have to be in it all the time and I'm fine with that.
"Everything's going well right now and I've just got to watch what I put on Twitter," he added.
Mathieu's bio is extensive. He is a 2012 National Player of the year candidate, 2011 National Defensive Player of the year, unanimous first-team All-American and recipient of the Bednarik Award. He became the first defensive back to be invited to the Heisman Trophy ceremony in New York since Charles Woodson of Michigan in 1997.
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Tyrann Mathieu, a.k.a. the Honey Badger (Source: lsusports.net)
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