UH rally falls short
The Cougars come back but not far enough in loss to SMU; UT, A&M both suffer late losses.
Ball-hunting safety Tyrann Mathieu has been quite the catch for Texans’ defense
Tyrann Mathieu makes it easy to believe in the Texans. Really believe. A former All-Pro safety who bet on himself and a 4-12 team at the same time last March, leaving millions of dollars and extra contract years on the free-agency table in the belief that 2018 could truly be special in Houston.
A proud, veteran leader of an increasingly confident 5-3 squad, which answered a backward 0-3 start with gritty Sundays, overtime victories and five consecutive wins.
“We knew the kind of group we had, the kind of potential we had,” Mathieu said. “We really just didn’t play our best football. I don’t think we still have played our best football yet.”
The piled-up statistics attached to No. 32 tell you how important the Honey Badger has been: 46 combined tackles (38 solo), two interceptions, two sacks, five passes defensed, three tackles for loss, one fumble recovery.
With the AFC South-leading Texans entering Week 9 at Denver on a playoff pace, the 26year-old Mathieu is playing at a Pro Bowl level for a defense that ranks ninth in the NFL in average points allowed (20.9) and 12th in passing yards (239.8).
Simply mention Mathieu to Bill O’Brien and the Texans coach acknowledges that the sixth-year defender “means the world to me.”
“I just think that the guy — in addition to being a really good, tough football player — he’s a very bright guy, he cares about his teammates, he’s been through a lot in his life,” O’Brien said. “He has no fear. He brings a great attitude every single day to the locker room, and he’s been a great addition to our team.”
Memories and motivation
Great attitude. Cares about his teammates. Tough. No fear.
The words matter even more than the stats.
There’s a realness to Mathieu that makes him electric on the field and inspirational off it.
A telling tweet from early February is pinned to the top of his Twitter profile: “I’m letting my scars bleed all 2018.”
This post from Oct. 19 — when the Texans were 3-3; two days before a tough road victory at Jacksonville — captures it all: “6 years ago, I was arrested, kick out of school, entered a rehab, got a call my best friend got murdered, stick dropped, most of the people I thought loved me turned their back on me, only a few cared. I’m here to tell you fall forward, never know what your future has in store.” Fall forward. Mathieu used that same, uplifting term when I spoke with him in March in an NRG Stadium hallway, after he signed a oneyear, $7 million deal with the Texans. Seven months later, the former Louisiana State standout has been everything his new team was hoping for and more.
Before Deshaun Watson threw for five touchdowns on national TV, Mathieu gathered his teammates together during a standard pregame hype-up huddle.
Nothing is standard with Mathieu, though.
And if you need a little daily inspiration in your life, all you need to do is hit play on a video and let the Honey Badger instantly pump you up.
“Do y’all feel what’s in the air right now, man? Y’all feel what we’re about to do right now?” screamed Mathieu, his voice and intensity rising as a microphone crackled with distortion. “We’ve been ramping that (stuff ) up and it’s perfect timing . ... We about to show the whole world that we not (messing) around. We really living like that.”
Final score: Texans 42, Dolphins 23.
“Every time I played against him and watch him on tape, the first thing that comes out from the receivers’ room to the meetings rooms is he’s sideline to sideline,” said new Texans wide receiver Demaryius Thomas, who’ll return to Denver to face Case Keenum’s Broncos on Sunday. “You never know where he’s going to be. The intensity he brings to the game, not everybody brings that intensity. You know if you’re playing against him.”
Open book
Astros third baseman Alex Bregman — who also starred at LSU and throws away the pro athlete cookie-cutter filter — gave Mathieu a public shoutout Friday, with the No. 3 Tigers set to host No. 1 Alabama the night before the Texans face the Broncos.
Mathieu took time to tweet “GO VOTE!!!” before Tuesday’s elections.
And when a fan tagged Mathieu on social media, saying they “try to have @Mathieu_Era energy everyday,” the fan favorite replied with tongue-in-cheek self reflection.
“High standard. Even I can’t keep up some days,” Mathieu tweeted.
He is absolutely himself and opens up his world more than most.
“For me, it was always important to kind of show your scars, right?” Mathieu said. “And obviously not hide when you’re going through things — maybe somebody’s going through something similar. I love the idea of celebrating my teammates, celebrating my family, whatever it may be. I just want people to know that I’m in it with them and I care just as much for them.”
Setting an example
Mathieu’s love for lifting others up traces back to high school.
Growing up, he always had been an offensive player and was transitioning to cornerback. A coach believed Mathieu was the most talented athlete on the team and noticed other players gravitating toward him. The only problem? Mathieu was personally falling backward instead of blazing a path.
“I don’t think at the time I was leading those guys the right way,” he said. “I didn’t take football seriously. I didn’t take my schoolwork seriously. A lot of things was a game for me. And (the coach) was kind of like one of the first people to help me realize that a lot of people are following me. … I kind of held on to that concept throughout my life. Some days are better than others, but I just try my best.”
J.J. Watt wanted Mathieu to be a Texan before Brian Gaine was hired as the team’s new general manager. Mathieu was one of Watson’s all-time favorite college players and is now loved by the team, the young quarterback said.
“He’s been through a lot of different situations,” Watson said. “You can ask him questions about his life story. But the things he’s been through, I’ve seen him overcome it. … Seeing what he’s become and now how he is as a man and as a father, it’s been awesome to be around him.”
Hoping to stay put
Mathieu is real enough to acknowledge that his new team hasn’t accomplished anything yet.
The Texans dug their own hole and needed back-to-back overtime luck just to draw even. Sunday is another serious test and the toughest part of their season still awaits. Mathieu’s second-half view? “To be honest, kind of making it personal, so you can make yourself have an advantage, make yourself get up for it,” he said. “It’s been fun the last few weeks, winning. But at the halfway mark, we know these games matter the most.”
Counted out and left for dead. Mistakes and setbacks, followed by resilience and redemption.
There’s a lot of Mathieu in these Texans.
If the wins continue and Kirby Drive keeps feeling like a football home, he hopes his time in Houston lasts longer than a single season.
“No doubt,” he said. “Just try to do my part and hoping that everything plays out for the better.”
When the 2018 Texans have been at their best, they’ve listened to Mathieu’s words and followed his lead.
“He goes out there and makes plays, whether it’s a sack, whether it’s a pick. He finds a way to get to the ball,” Watt said. “Any time you do that, you’re going to help build the team up. And I think that when you do it with a little bit of swagger, a little bit of energy, it obviously does the same thing. … We’re very lucky to have a guy like that. Hopefully, he can stay here for quite a while.”