BATON ROUGE – LSU defensive back Tyrann Mathieu has been named to the Rivals.com Freshman All-America Team, the website announced on Tuesday.
Mathieu, a true freshman from New Orleans, made an immediate impact during his rookie season with the Tigers, playing in 12 games with one start. Mathieu, who was also a member of the Freshman All-SEC team, finished fifth on the team with 50 tackles, including 7.5 tackles for loss.
Mathieu added 3.5 sacks, a team-high six pass breakups, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, and an interception for an LSU defense that ranked among the top 10 in the nation in three categories.
In his first game as a Tiger, Mathieu had a sack for a 19-yard loss and a career-best nine tackles in LSU’s season-opening win over North Carolina. Mathieu also added sacks against West Virginia, Tennessee, and Arkansas. His interception came in the win over West Virginia.
Mathieu is one of six rookies from the Southeastern Conference on the Rivals.com First-Team Freshman All-America squad, joining running back Marcus Lattimore (South Carolina), guard Alvin Bailey (Arkansas), center Travis Swanson (Arkansas), linebacker C.J. Mosley (Alabama) and kick returner Andre Debose (Florida).
Rivals.com FIRST TEAM FRESHMAN ALL-AMERICA
Offense
QB Taylor Martinez, Nebraska
RB Marcus Lattimore *, South Carolina
RB James White, Wisconsin
WR Marquees Wilson, Washington State
WR Robert Woods, USC
TE Ted Bolser, Indiana
T Luke Joeckel, Texas A&M
T James Hurst, North Carolina
G Alvin Bailey, Arkansas
G Gabe Ikard, Oklahoma
C Travis Swanson, Arkansas
Defense
E Damontre Moore, Texas A&M
E Junior Onyeali, Arizona State
T Roosevelt Nix, Kent State
T Akeem Spence, Illinois
LB Shaun Lewis, Oklahoma State
LB C.J. Mosley, Alabama
LB Kevin Pierre-Louis, Boston College
CB Tyrann Mathieu, LSU
CB Xavier Rhodes, Florida State
SS Hakeem Smith, Louisville
FS Ty Zimmerman, Kansas State
Special Teams
K Ross Krautman, Syracuse
P Kirby Van Der Kamp, Iowa State
PR Terrence Mitchell, USF
KR Andre Dubose, Florida
* National Freshman of the Year