DETROIT -- Some were put off by Darius Slay's finger wags last year, but his defensive coordinator is embracing the bravura.

Teryl Austin unveiled a new nickname for his promising young cornerback Tuesday night, dubbing him "Slay-tumbo" during a town hall meeting with season ticket holders at Ford Field.

"He always does this," Austin said, wagging his finger at fans.

Slay began using the finger wag last year, busting it out after incomplete passes, and even some completed ones. He said last year that he copped it from Dikembe Mutumbo, the former NBA great who popularized the finger wag during his playing days and brought it back recently for a Geico commercial.

And Austin is encouraging the swagger.

"The thing you noticed right away, he obviously has ability. He has a lot of confidence, and that was the biggest thing," Austin said. "As we went through last year's offseason, was, hey, let's get this kid some confidence. Let's push him.

"He thinks he can be great? Well, let's let him go there. So that's what we did. We pushed him, and he accepted it."

Confidence has never been an issue for Slay, a second-round pick in the 2013 draft. But production was.

He began his rookie season in the starting lineup opposite Chris Houston, but was benched each of the first two weeks before losing his spot for good in Week 3. He was that bad.

Slay had the physical talent -- he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.36 seconds at the combine, faster than every cornerback except Michigan State's Trae Waynes the past three years -- but the cerebral side of his game was underdeveloped at Mississippi State.

But he was extremely receptive to coaching last offseason, including in the program with Detroit as well as away from the team. He enlisted the private coaching of Hall of Famer Rod Woodson, and bent the ear of his veteran teammates.

Rashean Mathis has been integral to Slay's development, as has Glover Quin and James Ihedigbo from the safety position.

And Slay turned all that coaching into a breakout year in 2014. He started all 17 games, allowed a QB rating of just 81.1 on balls thrown his way and was the 19th-best cornerback in the game according to ProFootballFocus.

That was up from 92nd his rookie season.

"They've all kind of taken (Slay) under their wing, saying, 'Hey, listen, you can be a great player. But you got to do this.' He bought into it, and I think it showed," Austin said. "He plays what I would think is one of the hardest positions in the National Football League -- playing out there on the corner, playing by himself.

"He more than held his own. I'm excited. I know he's working hard. He'll come back, and we just hope he keeps ascending."

With Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley leaving in free agency, the Lions are expecting the next wave of defensive stars to begin asserting themselves. Slay-tumbo definitely falls into that category.

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