If you ask Wikipedia, a honey badger is “a carnivorous species that has few natural predators because of it’s thick skin and ferocious defensive abilities.” Ask Urban Dictionary and it’ll tell you that a honey badger is “one fearless mother fucker!” Type “the Honey Badger” into YouTube and one will see a man that resembles everything that the ferocious beast represents.

That man is Tyrann Mathieu, or "Honey Badger" as he’s most famously known. He’s a former LSU Tiger and current member of the Arizona Cardinals. The former Heisman finalist took the road less traveled to the NFL, but his mind is focused on nothing besides becoming the greatest cornerback in the NFL. Having Patrick Peterson—the self-proclaimed best cornerback in the NFL—as a teammate, brother, and mentor will certainly help him along his way.

Mathieu was a third-round pick by the Arizona Cardinals in the 2013 NFL Draft. However, he immediately proved to be a first-round talent when he stepped on the field during his rookie season. His first interception was against future Hall of Famer Drew Brees, a place where Honey Badger himself hopes to land one day. In his rookie season, Mathieu totaled 68 tackles, three interceptions and a sack before a knee injury ended his season 13 games in. He tore his ACL and LCL, which meant that he needed to let his LCL heal before he could even undergo surgery. It was a crushing blow for a battle-tested warrior who was in the running for Defensive Rookie of the Year. But it was also learning experience.

In our interview with Mathieu, he gives us full updates on his rehab, the beef between Patrick Peterson and Richard Sherman, and what he wants to be remembered for when his career is over.

First off, let’s update your rehab. Talk about how the knee is coming along and when you expect to be back on the field.

My rehab is going well. I’m still trying to push for Week 1, so I’ve been doing more and more things. I'm just trying to increase the volume with the things that I’m doing.

What’s a normal 24 hours for Tyrann Mathieu with rehab?

Well, I still try to be apart of the team and go to weekly team things. But, obviously I wake up in the morning and go to meetings, then I’ll go to the training room and get some treatment. Then, I’ll do my weight lifting, upper body and lower body. Then, I’ll go through a solo practice by myself with the trainers. After that I’ll go watch my teammates practice and then we have more meetings.

So is Week 1 a realistic target for you?

That was my goal. I think a day or two after I got injured I said that my goal was Week 1 and I’m still pushing for that. I’ll know if I’ll actually be ready for Week 1 in the next two weeks.

When the injury occurred, what was your initial reaction when you tried to get up and then fell back to the ground?

Well, initially I didn’t feel anything, but I knew I hurt my knee pretty bad. I tried to get up and I was going to run to the sideline, tape my knee up, and hopefully get back in the game, but it turned out to be a more serious injury than I thought.

With the ACL and the LCL being torn, it’s a much longer rehab than usual. Did you ever question anything about your career during this rehab?

Not at all. The biggest thing was that I just wanted to know when I was going to be healthy enough to play again. I knew it was going to be a long process, but I didn’t try to add any extra pressure on myself. I felt like the situation was enough of a burden as it is.

Obviously, it’s 2014 and technology is constantly moving further, can you give a little insight on some of the technologies that helped you during rehab?

One of the machines I used is called the Biodex machine. Obviously, with my injury, I couldn’t really get my full range of motion at first. So, I got on this machine and it’s just a regular machine, but it bends your knee back and tries to get that extension and flexion back. It doesn’t usually work that well when another person tries to do it manually; it seems to hurt and get tighter on you. I think that machine helped me out a lot getting over a couple humps that helped this process.

Have you been able to learn anything from the injury?

Well, the biggest thing is that it taught me a lot about patience and waiting my turn. Last year I got off to a great start, I was in the running for Rookie of the Year. That injury kinda set me back, but I just had to realize that I couldn’t achieve that goal. But the goals I planned for myself for the future, those are still there for me to take. It just taught me a lot about patience. Sometimes you have to wait your turn. I’m looking forward to it.

What was it like to pick off Drew Brees for your first career INT?

Oh, that was great. I actually did it in my hometown in front of my family and friends, so that was sweet. We didn’t win the game, but that interception was definitely sweet. It was definitely one of my greatest football memories.

Did you keep the ball?

Yeah, I did [laughs].

Who is the toughest QB you’ve faced so far?

The toughest QB was probably Drew Brees. He’s just a surgeon. They blew us out pretty bad. I think it was 31-7. My interception was an overthrown ball so I was able to make a play on it. But, every other play it was right on the money and we played good coverage. It was just his familiarity with his teammates and wide receivers. It was tough to stop that guy.

Can you talk a little bit about your relationship with Patrick Peterson and how he’s influenced your NFL career thus far?

Well, first off, he’s my big brother. I’m his little brother. I listen to everything he has to say. He doesn’t talk too much, but when he speaks I try to listen well. He’s a great teammate and a better friend. He knows when to give me my space. He’s not trying to crowd around and trying to throw things at me and stuff knowledge in my head. He knows when to talk and then he knows when to relax and give me my space. I respect that a lot about him.

Is his beef with Richard Sherman real or is that just two competitive players striving to be the best?

Yeah, I think that’s part of it. Both of those guys are competitive. I think another part of it is in marketing and business. Those guys want to be labeled the best cornerback in the NFL for various reasons. Both of those guys are great talents. I’d have to say that Patrick is the best cornerback, and not just because he’s my brother or my teammate. He takes away the opponent's best wide receiver every week, and that’s something we need on our team.

How have the other veterans of the squad like Larry Fitzgerald, Darnell Dockett, Calais Campbell and so on, helped you?

All of those guys played integral parts in my success as a rookie. Obviously, those guys showed me how to be a professional, how to practice, and how to things right off the ship. All of those guys support me and encourage me everyday, all the time, and I appreciate that from those guys.

I also read that you and Deion Sanders were very close when you were going through the NFL Draft process.

Yeah, he’s a big influence. I’m a fan of that guy, always been a fan of that guy. He’s one of the best players of all time. For him to reach out and be such a critical piece in my resurgence or resurrection—or however you want put it—that was great for me. I needed that from somebody who’s in the Hall of Fame, from somebody who did it all season. He’s a great guy and I’m just grateful for it.

Did you watch the Hall of Fame induction this year?

I did. Well, I watched Aeneas Williams part, because I’m really close to him, but I didn’t watch the other guys.

How does watching the Hall of Fame induction motivate a young player with tons of potential like yourself, especially when you see Aeneas Williams get inducted, someone who plays your position?

It motivates me a lot. Me and Aeneas are actually from the same city. So, he’s from New Orleans, he played ball in Louisiana, went to college in Louisiana, we pretty much had the same mission. He was drafted in the third round by the Cardinals, I was drafted in the third round by Arizona. Ever since my LSU days he’s always been in my ear and giving me advice. I’m happy to see that he finally made it to the Hall of Fame. I know that was one of his biggest goals.

Definitely. So I’m guessing you can see yourself in his position when your career is over.

Oh, definitely. I think that’s everyone’s goal. I think some people work harder for it, and I plan on working extremely hard for all that hardware and all those accolades.

I saw on Twitter that your son just turned two months old a few days ago. How has he impacted your life?

He’s impacted it in a great way. He was innocent when he was first born. Now he’s starting to cry and talk—all those things—and turning a bit difficult. It’s a blessing, man. It makes you grateful, it makes you humble that you have the opportunity to be a father and be there for your son. My father wasn’t, so I just try to do the right things for my son.

What would Tyrann Mathieu be doing if it wasn’t playing football?

Oh, I’d probably be acting. I like movies, action movies. I definitely would be an actor in Hollywood. I don’t know if I would have made it in Hollywood, but I definitely would have tried to pursue it.

So, who would you have play you if they made a movie on your life?

Hm, I don’t know man that’s tough. I don’t know, probably Will Smith. I think he’s a great actor. I think he has a great personality and everybody likes him.

Yeah, that’s my favorite actor too, so I agree. So, what’s your no. 1 goal for the season when you get on the field? Either personal or team-oriented.

Obviously, the team-oriented goal is to win a Super Bowl. With playing for Arizona, and having the Super Bowl and Pro Bowl in Arizona this year, I think it’s all set up for us to succeed. So, hopefully we can do that this year.

Obviously, the Cardinals play in a really tough division, which just seems to get better. Does the fact that you play in a tough division help so that you’re battle-tested when the playoffs roll around?

Yeah, I think our division is one of the best. We have a great deal of talent and it’s really hard to get out of, really hard to win in it. So, hopefully we can get over that hump and beat the guys in our division. We know we can beat the guys in other divisions, because they aren’t as strong and aren’t as deep with talent. I think this division will definitely test us well and hopefully it will pay off during the season.

What’s the difference between Tyrann Mathieu and the Honey Badger?

Well, it’s sort of like a Superman and Clark Kent, you know? There was Superman, a guy who saved everybody and a guy who everybody knew, but few people actually knew Clark Kent. So I think that was the biggest thing for him, trying to channel those two personalities. I think that’s the biggest thing for me. Obviously, I accept the Honey Badger. I have fans who are just in love with the Honey Badger, so I hold a great deal of responsibility with being called the Honey Badger, but there’s another person on the other side and he isn’t exactly the Honey Badger.

You brought up all the fans. How does it feel to know that you have all these people that look up you and all the kids that look up to your game and model their game after yours?

Oh man, It’s a great feeling. It’s humbling. I’m always completely surprised that people consider me their favorite player, it’s definitely humbling man, it’s a blessing.

You’ve fought like hell to get to where you are today. What do you want to be remembered as when it’s all said and done?

I just want to be remembered as an inspiration. I don’t want to be remembered as anything else. 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 just want to be an inspiration to everyone who wants to see me as an inspiration.