Darius Slay, Grown Up Now, Ponders Football, Love, And Kobe Bryant

By Will Burchfield
Twitter:burchie_kid

Darius Slay was in an especially talkative mood Wednesday before the Lions' practice.

The 25-year-old cornerback, hardly bashful in front of the mic, held court on growing up, meeting his girlfriend and moving on from Kobe Bryant.

Aside from his stout defensive work, Slay is known for his jovial – some would say juvenile –  personality. But he feels he has matured since entering the NFL in 2013, in large part because he's followed the lead of those around him.

"I've been around a lot of mature, mature guys, happily-married men. I see them living happily ever after, so shoot, I need to be doing the same thing," Slay laughed. "They're doing the right thing so I need to do the right thing – great leadership."

Slay isn't married yet, but he seems headed in that direction. He and girlfriend Jennifer Williams, a former college basketball player, have been dating for about a year and a half. The two of them live together along with two young boys, one of them Slay's son, the other Williams'.

The ease and security Slays feels in his personal life has helped his football career flourish. He is coming off two terrific seasons for the Lions and was rewarded last month with a four-year, $48 million extension.

"It's real good just to know that your family's at home, just taking care of business at home, less stress at work," Slay said. "So it's a stress-reliever, and I love it."

He particularly appreciates the fact that his girlfriend helps his nine-year old son Darion with his homework.

"(One) less thing I gotta do, so hey, I'm with it," Slay smiled. "It's teamwork."

And he returned the favor in grand style earlier this week, surprising Williams with a new blue Range Rover – her dream car.

"Got her a nice little set of wheels," he confirmed.

But not without staging some drama first. Hey, he's Big Play Slay, right?

When Slay came home with the car, he told Williams he needed to talk to her outside, out of earshot of the kids. This instantly put her on edge, fearing something had gone awry.

"She's like, 'What, what's wrong, what's going on,'" Slay mimed, widening his eyes and talking in a high-pitched voice.

"I said, 'Man, you know, the day's been long, the back's been hurting, but if you look to the left, I don't know what that is, but I know it's something you probably want."

Williams spotted her dream car in the driveway, and instantly broke down in tears.

Slay's eyes lit up and he flashed that trademark grin.

"A little something nice, nice, nice," he said.

Slay and Williams met through basketball, a passion the two of them share. Williams was a four-year guard at Southwestern Oklahoma State University, while Slay, destined for NBA stardom, was undone by his height.

"I would've been a professional hooper but I didn't grow enough," he claimed.

(For what it's worth, rookie running back Ameer Abdullah disputed the level of Slay's basketball talents, claiming he'd easily beat him in a game of one-on-one. "Slay's pretty good, but I'm a lot better," Abdullah said.)

When it was pointed out to Slay that his romance with Williams sounds awfully similar to the plotline of Love & Basketball, a romantic drama about two next-door neighbors who fall in love through basketball, he quickly responded, "That is my favorite movie."

"Maybe we could do the re-make," he added.

But in his version of the film, Williams wouldn't beat him in one-on-one.

"First of all, I would never lose," he clarified. "I'm too good at basketball.

"I'm like Black Mamba junior."

Slay was referencing Kobe Bryant, of course, the transcendent NBA superstar who retired at the end of the 2015-16 season. Bryant has always been Slay's favorite player, but with Mamba out of the picture Slay will be investing himself in a different hooper moving forward.

"Kobe's always the guy, but since he's done, I'm going with P.G. 13," he said, referring to Paul George of the Indiana Pacers. "That was my second favorite player because he's P.G. 2-4, but now he's P.G. 13, so it kind of, like, smoothed it out."

George used to wear the number 24, but swapped it out for 13 ahead of the 2014 season. Together, and with some convenient chopping, that forms 23 – Slay's number.

"I like the P.G. 13 cuz he keeps everything rated under 'R," Slay cracked.

"So I'm a Paul George fan now to the fullest, but it's still gonna be Kobe number one. Paul George is number two."

Slay then lobbied for someone to link him up with George via Twitter. He is hopeful of meeting the Pacers' star this season, with the intention of getting his autograph.

"I need him to sign me a jersey so I can put it up," Slay said.

That's the kid in him. Nevertheless, Slay feels he's coming of age.

"It took me till year four [in the league] to just get all comfortable," he said. "But I feel good, feel better than I've ever felt and enjoying life."