Dwayne Slay
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born: | June 21, 1984 Brunswick, Georgia |
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Weight: | 214 lb (97 kg) |
| Career information | |
| College: | Texas Tech |
| Position: | Safety |
| Undrafted: | 2006 |
| Career history | |
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Dwayne Slay (born June 21, 1984) is a former football safety who played collegiate football for the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Later he also played professionally for the Chicago Bears and Amarillo Dusters and Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the CFL.
Playing career
College
While only playing for one season as a starter at Texas Tech, Slay set a new Big 12 record with eight forced fumbles in a single season. This achievement, along with Slay being one of the top tacklers in the Big 12, contributed to him being named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year by the Associated Press and First-team All-Big 12 Conference in November, 2005.[1] Slay was also named a First-team All-American by Sports Illustrated in December 2005, the first Red Raider thus selected since Montae Reagor in 1998.[2]
In one game—against the Kansas State Wildcats on October 15, 2005—Slay had two big hits. The first was a tackle on Kansas Statewide receiver Davin Dennis that caused a fumble. Slay later caused another fumble when he hit quarterback Allan Everidge on an up-the-middle draw play that forced Everidge to the turf for several minutes. The Red Raiders won the game 59-20.
Towards the end of the season, ESPN's Mel Kiper, Jr. had Slay as one of his top 25 NFL draft prospects and many believed Slay would, at the very least, go late in the first day of the draft. However, after a poor pro-day workout at the NFL combine, Slay's status dropped significantly.
Professional
Pundits predicted that Dwayne Slay would be drafted by an NFL team in the seventh round of the 2006 NFL Draft; but, after going undrafted, Slay instead signed a free agent contract with the Chicago Bears. Slay was released by the Bears due to injuring his hamstring. The Bears re-signed Slay and put him on the practice squad as a linebacker. He later left the team and was signed by the Amarillo Dusters.[3] Slay moved on to sign with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers,[4] but was later cut[5] and is currently out of football.
Personal life
Following his retirement from football, he returned to Texas. In 2015, he returned to at Texas Tech and completed his bachelor's degree in human sciences.[6] He is the cousin of NFL cornerback Darius Slay.[7]
References
- ^ "2005 SBC All-Big 12 Conference Football Awards Announced". Big 12 Conference. 29 November 2005. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
- ^ "Dwayne Slay, Texas Tech". CBS Sports. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
- ^ Dusters introduce new players
- ^ Dwayne Slay signs with CFL's Winnipeg Blue Bombers[permanent dead link]
- ^ "CFL Cutdown Day". Archived from the original on 2015-09-29. Retrieved 2017-08-26.
- ^ Williams, Don (14 December 2015). "Going the extra mile: Dwayne Slay returns to Texas Tech, graduates 10 years after all-America season". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
- ^ Southwest, FOX Sports (2017-10-26). "From being one of the best at @TexasTechFB to falling to injury in the pros. Dwayne Slay's story is nothing short of inspiring. #ThenAndNowpic.twitter.com/mJV8lrGveZ". @FOXSportsSW. Retrieved 2017-10-27.
External links
- American football safeties
- Chicago Bears players
- Texas Tech Red Raiders football players
- Amarillo Dusters players
- Living people
- 1984 births
- All-American college football players
- Winnipeg Blue Bombers players
- Players of American football from Brunswick, Georgia
- Players of Canadian football from Georgia (U.S. state)
- American football linebackers