By Wednesday, the drama surrounding Tyrann Mathieu's football future should start to dissipate.
According to the New Orleans Times-Picayune, Mathieu will announce his transfer to an FCS school. This news directly contradicts an ESPN report that Mathieu was trying to stay at LSU as a student and work his way back onto the football team for 2013.
Mathieu was dismissed from the team last Friday after reportedly failing multiple drug tests. Coach Les Miles said in his news conference that Mathieu was "permanently" dismissed, which pretty much left no room for a potential return.
Mathieu, a former Heisman Trophy finalist, visited McNeese State last Friday and also was being courted by Jackson State and Prairie View A&M. If Mathieu does end up at a non-FBS school, he can play immediately and start repairing his image en route to the NFL draft at the end of the season. Mathieu is a true junior and will not be eligible for the NFL draft until after the season. He could sit out the season and just prepare for the draft, but showing that he's trying to better himself and his image while in school might bode well in terms of maturity for NFL scouts.
According to the newspaper, Mathieu has returned to his home in New Orleans to contemplate his next move.
"We're going to support him in whatever he decides, and we'll go from there," Shelia Mathieu, Tyrann's mother, told the Times-Picayune on Monday. "We want to gather all the facts, get the information, then give him all the things he needs to get past this and learn from it."
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