AUBURN AUTHORITY

Tray Matthews named A-Day Defensive MVP

James Crepea
Montgomery Advertiser
Auburn wide receiver Jason Smith (4) jukes Auburn defensive back Tray Matthews (39) during the Auburn A-Day spring game on Saturday, April 18, 2015, at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala.

AUBURN -- Tray Matthews made his presence felt in his debut performance before a friendly Auburn crowd.

The former Georgia safety made five tackles, forced a fumble and had an interception in the end zone for the first teammers on Team Auburn on A-Day.

"Felt great," Matthews said. "Felt like a relief, felt great to be back out there."

Matthews was limited earlier in the week due to an undisclosed injury, but he said there was "no way" he was going to miss a chance to play in front of the announced crowd of 62,143.

"When you have a little minor injury, you just suck it up," he said. "In a big-time game like this, you got to go ahead and play."

Matthews helped the first-team defense keep the second-team offense in check during the first half as Team Tigers managed just 129 yards on 34 plays, with one score.

"(Defensive coordinator Will) Muschamp, before the game he said we need a shutout," Matthews said. "He wants everything done his way. He wants the defense done his way. He wants every technique done his way. If we buy into what he got going on, we're going to be all right. We went out there and played hard."