Super Bowl Football

Former NFL great Deion Sanders, shown at right interviewing Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib, has taken a mentorship role with Detroit's Darius Slay.

(AP Photo)

SAN FRANCISCO -- Darius Slay was as physically gifted as just about any cornerback in the league when he was drafted by the Detroit Lions in 2013.

But he didn't have the smarts to match it.

Here's the smart thing about Slay, though: He wasn't afraid to admit his weakness, nor ask for help from anyone who would listen.

That includes flying out to California to stay with Rod Woodson's family and work out with the Hall of Famer after a bad rookie season. That includes picking the brain of veteran Rashean Mathis in the locker room.

And apparently that includes calling up one of the biggest names to ever play the position.

"He reached out to me early when he was coming into the league," Hall of Famer Deion Sanders said Thursday at Super Bowl 50 in San Francisco.

Slay had a lot of growing up to do on the field in those days. He began his career at Itawamba Community College, then played for a Mississippi State team whose defensive scheme basically amounted to "line up across from that guy and go where he goes."

So Slay didn't have a lot of knowledge about zone concepts when he entered the NFL. He didn't know how to read keys. He didn't know a lot.

That's where guys such as Mathis, Woodson and Sanders have come in. Sanders said he speaks regularly with Slay on the phone, offering advice about how to make it in the NFL.

"Study," Sanders said he told him. "Study, prepare. Study, prepare. Study, prepare. Whatever you put into the game, you're going to get out of it."

Sure enough, Slay has flourished into one of the league's bright young corners thanks to the tutelage of the pros with whom he's surrounded himself. He turned in a solid campaign in 2014, then really turned a corner in 2015.

He drew a lot of tough assignments, too, once Mathis was lost for the final eight games due to a concussion. That meant Slay went from being stationed on one side of the field, to traveling with each team's best receiver. But no matter who lined up across from him, he almost always shut 'em down.

Slay finished with 59 tackles, 13 passes defended and two interceptions. He was ranked by ProFootballFocus as the second-best cornerback in the league.

The big season has positioned Slay, who is entering a contract year, to cash in. He's already approached the team about working out a long-term deal this offseason, and considering how tough (and expensive) it is to find elite cornerbacks, he looks primed to cash in.

"Darius Slay is good, man," Sanders said. "I like the kid."

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