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Auburn defensive back Tray Matthews smiles after big play during the first half of the spring A-Day game Saturday, April 18, 2015, at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala. (Julie Bennett/ jbennett@al.com)
Tray Matthews could barely contain his energy on A-Day.
After one hit, the big safety let out a war cry so loud it carried all the way to the press box. Matthews later drew a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct for playing to the crowd after his interception, raising a finger to the sky in a gesture he later said was an expression of thanks to God.
Forgive Matthews his outpouring of emotion. A year spent away from live competition has left him bursting at the seams.
"Sitting out a year, I've got so much built-up pressure," Matthews said. "Sitting out a year is no joke."
Matthews is acutely aware that his one-year exile was born of his own making.
A little more than a year ago, the Newnan, Georgia native looked like he was headed for stardom at Georgia. Matthews, who'd been one of the most coveted safeties in the nation, started six games for the Bulldogs in 2013, made 36 tackles and offered plenty of promise.
What happened next is well-documented. Matthews was one of four Bulldogs arrested in March of 2014 and charged with theft by deception for trying to cash scholarship checks twice, a misdemeanor that resulted in pre-trial intervention. Three months later, Matthews was involved in a classroom disruption, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and Bulldogs coach Mark Richt dismissed him from the team.
The dismissal and the ensuing fallout rocked Matthews and his family. Another parent of a Georgia player, Kevin Bailey, fired off criticism of Matthews and the family's reaction to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
"We're a very close family, we're big on God, we go to church every Sunday," Matthews said. "It was hard for them, very hard for them. It hurt me more to see my mom cry and it hurt her to see people talk about her son, so it affected me. ... I knew I had another opportunity coming."
Being dismissed forced Matthews to take a hard look at himself.
"I was very immature," Matthews said. "I started as a true freshman, everything was coming at me real fast. Me and my dad (Carlos) would talk about how physically I was ready for the game at Georgia, but mentally, I wasn't ready."
Back in Newnan, Matthews sat down with his parents, talked through everything that had happened and realized he had changes to make.
"He had to learn that he couldn't follow, either," his mother, Sonya, said. "That's not the type of kid he was, and he's certainly not the type of child that other people, social media painted him to be. I think that's made him think and just grow up over time."
Unlike some FBS stars desperate for a second chance, Matthews didn't have to spend a year at a junior college before returning to the ranks of the elite. Both Auburn and Louisville were immediately interested.
The Cardinals had just hired his former defensive coordinator at Georgia, Todd Grantham. Auburn had family; his aunt, LaToya Cox-Thomas, lives in Auburn, a grandmother lives in Lanett and Newnan is only an hour away.
Matthews chose Auburn, a school with a history of offering second chances under Gus Malzahn.
But he still had to wait. Under the NCAA's transfer rules, Matthews sat out last season, practicing on the scout team and working hard to earn Malzahn's trust.
"That helped him grow up a little," Sonya said. "Here he is, practicing and everything, and he still can't play. I think that taught him a lot. It humbled him, and it taught him patience, and most 18, 19-year-olds don't have patience."
One last curveball awaited Matthews before he could take the field as a full member of the team again. After the season, Auburn fired former defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson and hired Will Muschamp, a coach Matthews had always admired.
"Muschamp is one of the coaches Tray would have liked to play for anyway," Sonya said. "He just wasn't into going to Florida."
Muschamp brought Florida defensive backs coach Travaris Robinson with him to coach the secondary.
Both knew the talent level the 6-foot-1, 213-pound Matthews brings to the table. What impresses both coaches most is the way Matthews has handled himself off the field. Back before spring practice began, Matthews was constantly in the football building, watching film and popping his head into their offices to ask questions about the defense.
"In life, you don't get a bunch of chances," Robinson said. "He understands that now he's in the spotlight. ... But he's genuinely a good dude. Made some mistakes like we all have. He was probably just unfortunate that he got caught making those mistakes."
Matthews essentially opened the spring as one of Auburn's starters at safety, and he offered a glimpse of what he might be able to do on A-Day, winning MVP honors with five tackles, a forced fumble and an interception.
A season of waiting is over. Older and wiser now, Matthews feels ready to make a splash.
"My mom always tells me, Tray, you're not lucky, you're blessed," Matthews said. "Who would've ever thought, I had to sit out last season, build the coach's trust, build Malzahn's trust. Then I worked so hard to get the orange reps, the reps with the 1's, then, next thing you know, Muschamp comes in here. It's a great opportunity. I'm taking full advantage of it."