Tyrann Mathieu

“I want people who go through tough times, hard times, or didn't have everything right-things didn't fall in their lap or go in their favor-to know that they can still achieve their dream and go to the highest of the highs.”

“I want to... help the young guys, help my teammates, help everybody be confident and make everybody feel like they're special.”

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

“I don't think I can go back to New Orleans. I don't think that's possible.”

“Life is funny and weird.”

“I want to be a great teammate, and I want to be the same leader on the field that I know I can be off the field.”

“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.”

“You gotta have faith. You gotta keep your head up.”

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

“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.”

“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.”

“Any time I'm healthy I feel like I'm the best defensive player in the NFL.”

“I want to start a foundation called Second Chance. I was given a second chance, so I want to reach out to different groups of people. It would be nice to give that opportunity to others.”

“I think me, as a leader, as a guy that's been cut, been humiliated, embarrassed, whatever you put on it, I think it's important just to embrace the guys around you, really support them, encourage them and then kinda give them that confidence. Let them know that you believe in them, and hopefully they'll get to believing in themselves.”