How Tyrann Mathieu used bleach to try to pass a LSU football drug test

Before he was a Super Bowl champion and a household name in the NFL, Tyrann Mathieu was one of the most electric players in college football. The “Honey Badger” was a turnover-generating machine for LSU football, a player so dominant he finished fifth in the 2011 Heisman Trophy voting.

But behind the highlight-reel punt returns and forced fumbles, Mathieu was fighting a desperate, hidden battle with drug tests that nearly cost him everything, including his life.

In a recent episode of the In the Bayou podcast, Mathieu opened up about the lengths he went to while trying to stay eligible at LSU. After failing multiple tests, the star defensive back realized he was on the verge of being kicked out of school. Desperate for a fix, he turned to the internet.

“I’m on Google trying to figure out how the f**k I pass this test,” Mathieu shared. He stumbled upon a dangerous piece of misinformation suggesting that drinking a capful of bleach mixed with Coca-Cola would mask the drugs in his system.

Mathieu actually tried it. “It feel like my whole insides was just like erupting,” he recalled. “I end up throwing that s**t up… I thought that was going to save my life. It didn’t. It backfired.”

I look back on some of the wildest moments of my life https://t.co/4oDXUrJQmN

— Tyrann Mathieu (@Mathieu_Era) January 29, 2026

The desperation makes sense when you look at what was at stake. During that legendary 2011 season, Mathieu was a one-man wrecking crew. He recorded 76 total tackles, 1.5 sacks, and led the SEC with six forced fumbles and five fumble recoveries.

He even took two punt returns to the house, finishing the year with 421 return yards. In the “Game of the Century” against the Alabama Crimson Tide, he was everywhere, helping the Tigers secure a 9-6 overtime win with his signature ball-hawking style.

Despite his brilliance on the field, the off-field issues became too much to ignore. Mathieu later admitted to an NFL coach that he “quit counting” his failed drug tests after 10. LSU finally dismissed him in August 2012, a move that forced the star into rehab and eventually a path toward NFL redemption.

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