Tyrann Mathieu’s presence on the New Orleans Saints has lived up to expectations — after leading the team in solo tackles and interceptions last season, the veteran safety has continued to lead the charge on and off the field. Mathieu recently coached up dozens of young athletes from the New Orleans community at his Heart of a Badger youth football camp at the Saints’ Metairie practice facility, and afterwards he fielded questions from the local media.
Here’s a fun one. Mathieu made some compelling arguments for his choices when asked to rank his top-five LSU Tigers by Jacob Verdin of The Verdin Verdict sports talk show:
5
Chad Jones
Mathieu’s take: “Number five, I’m gonna go with Chad Jones, which is probably like a shocker. But I think anybody that comes to LSU and plays both sports and wins a championship in football and baseball, I mean, you can’t leave him out of your top five. And he was one of the best athletes I’ve ever seen in person.”
Jones saw extensive snaps at cornerback on the Tigers’ 2007 championship-winning football team, but as Mathieu observed he pulled double-duty as a relief pitcher during LSU’s 2009 championship run.
4
Joe Burrow
“Number four, I have to go Joe Burrow. He’d probably be number one but I’ll put him fourth. What he did at LSU was,” Mathieu paused, “I’m speechless at times. I think he threw like seven, eight touchdowns in one game. Not many people are able to do that.”
Burrow broke out in 2019 with a staggering 5,671 passing yards and 60 touchdown passes in just 15 games during LSU’s perfect season, capped with a blowout win over the vaunted Clemson Tigers. Among his many accolades are the Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award, and AP College Football Player of the Year recognition.
3
Dylan Crews
“Number three, I probably have to go with Dylan Crews. I think the year that he’s put together, not just this year but even not going into the MLB draft but to come back to school another year, and then to see all the success kind of come with that decision. I say he’s probably number three,” Mathieu said.
Crews recently led the Tigers to a College World Series win over Florida and was selected second overall in the 2023 MLB draft — having set a school record with 18 home runs by a freshman during his 2021 debut. He finished the 2022 season with more runs batted in (72) than games played (62).
2
Shaquille O'Neal
Mathieu’s pick: “I’ll probably say at number two, I’m gonna have to go Shaquille O’Neal. He was really, really dominant and it was a blessing for us to get a talent like that in basketball.”
O’Neil’s exploits are legendary: he was recognized twice as an All-American and as the SEC Player of the Year, also winning the Adolph Rupp Trophy in 1991. He led the NCAA in rebounds in 1991 and blocks in 1992. It’s not for nothing that he’s one of four athletes honored with statues on LSU’s campus, along with Seimone Augustus, Bob Pettit, and Pete Maravich.
1
Patrick Peterson
“I’m a little biased,” Mathieu grinned. “You know, I think the reason I put him number one, not just because he’s a great football player, but obviously I had a chance to be under his wing. I got to see what kind of person he is, what kind of man he is. And like I say, he’s really good at football too.”
Peterson made an impact from his freshman year and ended the 2008 season as a starter in the talented Tigers secondary, later impressing with high-profile battles against future All-Pro receivers A.J. Green (at Georgia) and Julio Jones (Alabama). But he was a talented returns specialist, too, and in 2010 Peterson was recognized as the SEC Special Teams Player of the Year and a unanimous All-American while also winning the Chuck Bednarik Award, the Jim Thorpe Award, and the Jack Tatum Trophy.
