Baton Rouge, LA

Louisiana State University head football coach Les Miles has dismissed defensive back Tyrann Mathieu from the football team for violation of unspecified team policy.

"This is a very difficult day for our team," Miles said in a statement. "We lose a quality person, teammate and contributor to the program. However, with that being said, we have a standard that our players are held to and when that standard is not met, there are consequences.

"It's hard because we all love Tyrann. We will do what we can as coaches, teammates, and friends to get him on a path where he can have success. We are going to miss him," Miles added.

A finalist for the Heisman Trophy and the nation's top defensive player a year ago, Mathieu played 26 games for the Tigers during his two years, racking up 133 total tackles, 16.0 tackles for loss and four interceptions.

Dubbed as "Honey Badger", Mathieu also forced 11 fumbles, which ranks first in school history and seventh in NCAA history, to go with eight fumble recoveries. He scored four touchdowns for the Tigers, two on punt returns and two on fumble returns.

Last year, Mathieu was suspended one game for testing positive for alleged use of synthetic marijuana.

A source told ESPN.com that Mathieu has been looking for a new school to play for this season. He has two years of eligibility left and could transfer, but he would have to sit out this season if he went to another school in major college football.

If Mathieu moves down a level, to FCS, he could play right away.

"I can't imagine he would be here and not want to transfer and go play football," Miles said. "We will help him in every way we can."

Miles said he is looking at Tharold Simon, freshmen Jalen Collins and freshman Jalen Mills to fill Mathieu's spot.

"We have good players," Miles said. "We have similar type guys. The challenge will be to them."

LSU has dismissed Heisman Trophy finalist Tyrann Mathieu from its football program for violating school and team rules

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