On the heels of signing a five-year, $62.5 million contract with the Arizona Cardinals, defensive back Tyrann Mathieu is riding sky-high.

This wasn’t always the case. Without question, the 5-foot-9 dynamo had a tumultuous road to starring in the Valley of the Sun. Featuring for the LSU Tigers in college, Mathieu accumulated an eye-popping 133 tackles, 16.0 tackles-for-loss, 6.0 sacks, four interceptions, 11 forced fumbles, 16 pass deflections, and two punt returns for touchdown. Perhaps most impressive is the fact these statistical feats occurred in only two seasons of play.

Affectionately known as the ‘Honey Badger’ to the Baton Rouge faithful, Mathieu ran into multiple off-the-field issues. He was ultimately dismissed from the team in 2012 due to repeated violations of LSU’s substance abuse policy for athletes.

As such, he’s worked incredibly hard to not only make an NFL team, but thrive as a disruptive force in Arizona’s secondary.

When asked Wednesday afternoon about Mathieu, his former head coach Les Miles opened up and was quite candid about his feelings on the 24-year-old athlete. Suffice it to say, but Miles is a massive Tyrann Mathieu fan.