Tray Matthews' shoulders really are repairable.

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After a messy 2015 season that saw him play tentatively through a series of shoulder injuries, the safety from Newnan, Ga., started all 13 games last year and led the team in tackles. It was exactly the kind of season Matthews needed to quiet critics who wondered if he deserved the injury prone label and even if he was good enough to deserve a full-time starting role.

The answers? No and very much yes.

Matthews once again was asked to serve as a box safety of sorts and he thrived in that role — providing good run support primarily by mitigating "the garbage" (a mass of linemen and other blockers near the line of scrimmage) and picking better vectors when approaching the ball-carrier. Healthy shoulders helped as well; Matthews was particularly effective against the run in games versus Clemson, LSU and Ole Miss.