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With INT on Thanksgiving, former Mississippi State CB Darius Slay in an NFL class by himself
By Keith Farner
Published:
His Twitter handle includes the phrase “Big Play Slay,” and he’s certainly delivered that kind of production during his NFL career.
He did it again on Thanksgiving for the Detroit Lions in a 24-20 loss to the Chicago Bears. Slay had three tackles, a pass defended and an interception. The Lions said since entering the NFL in 2013, Slay is the only player in the league to produce at least 325 tackles, 100 pass defenses and 15 interceptions.
Drafted by the Lions in the second round (36th overall) of the 2013 NFL Draft, Slay was re-signed by the Lions to a contract extension through the 2020 season prior to the start of 2016. Part of that draft position was because he had the top performance among defensive backs in the 40-yard dash in the 2013 NFL Combine with a 4.36.
In two seasons at Mississippi State, Slay played in 26 games, and started 13 at cornerback. He finished his career as a Bulldog with 63 tackles (40 solo), including two tackles for loss, 10 pass defenses, six interceptions (173 yards and two touchdowns) and one fumble recovery.
His two interceptions returned for scores are one shy of the school career-record of three that is shared by Johnthan Banks (2009-12), Derek Pegues (2005-2008) and Corey Broomfield (2009-Present)
Darius Slay is bringing turnovers to Thanksgiving 🙌 @_bigplayslay23 pic.twitter.com/6XEEgfKu3l
— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) November 28, 2019
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
