Tyrann Mathieu

Me and Sean Payton have a great relationship.

I take great pride in being who I am. Whether I'm broken or not, I am who I am.

A lot of people do impulsive things. They just go with their moves. I used to do that. Once I was able to control my mind, I was able to control my actions.

I think of guys like Troy Polamalu. These are guys who didn't see much action in the regular season, but when it came postseason time, they made their plays. That's ultimately how they got their names. Ed Reed. Troy Polamalu. Ty Law. Asante Samuel.

I celebrate my teammates' plays more than I celebrate my plays.

I want to be a beacon to kids like me, the ones who grow up without hope.

I've got two parents, I don't ride around with guns, and I've never put my hands on a woman. But the only team that believed me was the Cardinals.

Big-time college ball is a business, and they work you to death. You're in the gym at 7 A. M., got classes all morning, then five hours of practice a day.

My whole life, I've seen things I can't unsee.

It makes you grateful, it makes you humble that you have the opportunity to be a father and be there for your son. My father wasn't, so I just try to do the right things for my son.

When you surround yourself with the wrong people it's going to backfire every time.

LSU is the only fan base that truly knows Tyrann. I couldn't play for another school. I just couldn't do it. I wouldn't have given my all playing for another school. I was only going to give my all for LSU.

Many times I looked in the mirror and didn't see anything. Couldn't see anything. I didn't see anything in the mirror. It was me, but I didn't truly know my soul, my spirit.

I know what it feels like to lie to people. I know what it feels like for people not to trust you.

I was fortunate. And I hate using the word lucky, but I was very, very lucky. Because, all of those things were around me man. The violence, the drugs, the abuse of women. All these things were present in my life. And I take a step back and I try to reflect on my journey and what helped me out.

But when you talk about the education and you talk about the lack of recreation for kids to do, I mean, it's second to none in New Orleans when you talk about the lack of opportunities for young people. And it's not just black kids, it's white kids. It's Asian kids. I had Vietnamese kids in my class that had lack of opportunities.

My adopted parents were able to pay for me to go to a private school. So I had it better than most people.

I was a rock star. I was the president of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

I don't want anyone to believe in me more than me.

Not too many people have my story. And this is my story: A guy goes from unknown to a Heisman Trophy finalist. He gets kicked out of school. He absolutely rebounds himself. He becomes a millionaire. He's taking care of his family. And then he's getting injured.

I'd rather be a shooting star than a fading star.

Everybody can't be Lil Wayne. Some of us have to pick up a book.

The tough part is when someone asks you to take a pay cut. I don't think that makes sense for a lot of players.

But, most of the time it takes people to hit rock bottom for them to start believing in themselves, and start seeking help.

I do know that it takes a lot to look in that mirror and fix yourself.

I want to go somewhere where I can be completely immersed in football, and it's not too much about anything but winning - I want to be a part of winning culture, where you feel that all the time. That's all I want.

It's not all about money for me.

I can't make someone tell the truth. But I can ask.

I always focus on the negatives.

I've lived my whole life trying to prove that I'm worthy of being a part of something because I never really felt that.

I've always wanted a perfect life.

It's just the vibe I got when I landed in New Orleans. The culture is absolutely different. It's so dangerous, I tell you, I fly in and I fly out of town. That's how scared I am. And this is where I came from.

What you have to have is motivation and you have to have drive.

It's senseless. I've lost several uncles, I've lost my best friend to gun violence in New Orleans.

A lot of the things that I put before football, was really not fun anymore without football.

I've got to be the best person that Tyrann can be.

I'm surrounding myself with people who want to do what I want to do, which is be a football player.

I never want people to think I'm not playing my hardest or I'm not giving it my all.

Any team that's consistent over time, you have to respect what they have.

I'm always moving around. It's hard for offenses to get a grip on what I'm doing or where I'm at.

I have a Yorkie named King. Just the relationship I've developed with him is special. He really is somewhat of a best friend. When I come home from a hard day, he's always happy to see me.

LSU has a strong drug testing program and LSU went to great lengths to help me in my treatment and recovery.

I like movies, action movies. I definitely would be an actor in Hollywood.

It is irresponsible and shows a lack of integrity for anyone to disclose medical information regardless of how it was gathered. I would expect that conversations regarding my drug testing history during the course of my medical treatment would be private.