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During the 2010 and 2011 college football seasons, all anyone could talk about was the LSU Tigers' Tyrann Mathieu. The dynamic defensive back from made a name for himself and always found ways to create significant momentum plays for the Tigers and then-head coach Les Miles.
The name "Honey Badger" started floating around, and it caught on and surged like wildfire. The guys from the Golden Boot Podcast recently had the chance to interview Long Island head coach Ron Cooper, who was on the LSU staff during Mathieu's historic run. How did Mathieu end up with the nickname that has stuck with him even to this day?
Who Was the 'Honey Badger'?
Mathieu had a knack for making big play after big play in what was always the most crucial times for the LSU Tigers. The New Orleans native made a name for himself in the 2010 season, becoming known for his aggressive style of play that led to turnovers. As a freshman All-Southeastern Conference and first team freshman All-American, Mathieu was responsible for 5 forced fumbles, 2 interceptions and 3 fumble recoveries.
During historic 2011 season, Mathieu was an All-American as both cornerback and return specialist, as well as a Heisman Trophy finalist. He also won the Bednarik Award. In 13 games that season, Mathieu was responsible for 4 touchdowns (2 on punt returns and 2 on fumble recoveries). Mathieu also registered 76 tackles and forced 6 fumbles while recovering 5 and adding 2 more interceptions to his career total.
'Honey Badger' Is Born
Cooper, in an interview with the Golden Boot Podcast, said that during a game against West Virginia, the public address announcer had called him Mathieu the "Honey Badger" after making a couple of plays in the game.
"Tyrann Mathieu's is mad on the bus, got to catch the bus out of West Virginia to get to Pittsburg to fly out, and he is upset," Cooper said. "John Chavis, the defensive coordinator, takes his iPad and we Google 'Honey Badger,' and we looked up that animal and we were like wow! Look what they are calling you.
"We called Tyrann to the front of the bus and said, 'Tyrann this is what they are calling you,'" Cooper said. "Mathieu said 'oh wow, I'll take that,' and it has stuck since that time."
Mathieu in the Pros
Mathieu was the 69th overall pick to the Arizona Cardinals in the 2013 NFL Draft. Since his time with the Cardinals, Mathieu spent time with the Houston Texans and the Kansas City Chiefs before returning home to the New Orleans Saints in 2022.
In his career in the NFL, Mathieu has been selected to three Pro Bowls and was selected to the All-Pro first team twice. During his time with the Chiefs Mathieu was able to add Super Bowl Champion to his resume when the Chiefs won Super Bowl LIV.
Mathieu continues to make plays in the NFL, and has career totals of 33 interceptions and 5 forced fumbles to go along with 4 defensive touchdowns. Mathieu was also selected to the 2010s All-Decade NFL team and will go down as one of the more popular LSU Tigers of all time.
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