Darius Slay

Darius Demetrius Slay Jr. (born January 1, 1991) is an American football cornerback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL).

He rushed for over 1,300 yards and 15 touchdowns in the 2008 season, and intercepted six passes with two touchdown returns.

His junior season was shortened by a torn medial collateral ligament after he had rushed for 336 yards and six touchdowns in five games.

As a sophomore, he put up 1,127 yards on 142 rushes with 13 touchdowns.

Slay also lettered in basketball and was a standout track and field athlete.

He was timed at 10.9 seconds in the 100 meters and 22 seconds in the 200 meters.

Slay attended Itawamba Community College before transferring to Mississippi State University.

As a freshman at ICC, Slay earned First-team Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) All-State and National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) All-Region 23 honors after record 41 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 1 sack and forced two fumbles after only playing five games for Coach Jon Williams and the Indians.

After his freshman season, he earned JC Gridwire Preseason Second-team All-American honors.

During his final season in Fulton, Slay played in all nine games, recorded 32 total tackles, 1 tackle for loss, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery, and had three catches for 63 yards and a touchdown.

He earned MACJC First-team All-State honors on defense and special teams.

After ICC, he played for head coach Dan Mullen's Mississippi State Bulldogs football team in 2011 and 2012.

In his two seasons for Mississippi State, he had 64 tackles, six interceptions, and two touchdowns.

Coming out of Mississippi State, Slay was projected to be a second- or third-round draft pick by the majority of NFL draft experts and scouts.

He received an invitation to the NFL combine and completed all of the required combine and positional drills.

He played college football at Itawamba before transferring to Mississippi State and was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the second round of the 2013 NFL draft.

A native of Brunswick, Georgia, Slay attended Brunswick High School, where he was a running back and defensive back.

He was named All-State by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution at defensive back following his senior season, and was also chosen for the Georgia North-South All-Star Game.

On March 6, 2013, Slay participated at Mississippi State's pro day in front of team representatives and scouts from 30 NFL teams.

He was ranked as the seventh-best cornerback prospect available in the draft by NFL analyst Mike Mayock and was ranked the eighth-best cornerback by NFLDraftScout.com.

The Detroit Lions selected Slay in the second round (36th overall) of the 2013 NFL draft.

Slay was the fifth cornerback drafted in 2013, behind Dee Milliner, D. J. Hayden, Desmond Trufant, and Xavier Rhodes.

On May 3, 2013, Slay underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee.

On May 13, 2013, the Detroit Lions signed Slay to a four-year, $5.28 million contract that included $3.12 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $2.22 million.

He competed with Chris Houston and Bill Bentley throughout training camp in 2013 for the starting cornerback role.

Head coach Jim Schwartz named Slay the starting cornerback to begin his rookie season.

He earned his first start in his professional regular season debut during the 2013 season opener against the Minnesota Vikings and recorded four solo tackles and a pass deflection as the Lions won 34–24.

After giving up a big play, he was benched in favor for veteran Rashean Mathis in the fourth quarter.

Slay started the following week, but after struggling he was demoted in favor of Mathis and only appeared on special teams during the Lions' Week 3 victory over the Washington Redskins.

On September 29, 2013, Slay had a season-high seven combined tackles and a defense pass in a 40–32 victory over the Chicago Bears.

On December 7, 2013, it was confirmed that Slay had suffered a torn meniscus during practice.

The injury happened during a non-contact drill and was described as a "freak" accident by head coach Jim Schwartz.

It caused him to miss the following three games (Weeks 14–16).

On December 31, 2013, the Detroit Lions fired head coach Jim Schwartz after they failed to qualify for the playoffs and finished with a 7–9 record in 2013.

Slay finished with 34 combined tackles (27 solo) and six passes defended in four starts and 13 games.

Slay entered training camp slated as a starting cornerback, along with Rashean Mathis, but saw minor competition from Chris Houston.

Head coach Jim Caldwell named Slay and Rashean Mathis the starting cornerbacks to begin the regular season in 2014.

Slay started the season-opener against the New York Giants and recorded three solo tackles and a season-high three pass deflections in a 35–14 victory.

On September 28, 2014, Slay recorded five combined tackles, deflected a pass, and made his first career interception during a 24–17 victory at the New York Jets in Week 4.

Slay made his first career interception off a pass by quarterback Geno Smith, that was originally intended for wide receiver Eric Decker, and returned it for a 40-yard gain in the fourth quarter.