This past season for the Bulldogs, Slade recorded 32 tackles and five passes defended to go along with one sack in his 11 games played.
As a defensive back, Slade’s speed is the thing that is catching the eyes of NFL scouts.
“My speed is definitely my greatest attribute; nobody knows how fast I really am,” Slade said. “I ran a 4.38 40 [yard dash], and that’s my best time so far.”
Slade has a track background, and his 40-yard dash time has him in the top tier of NFL draft prospects. That time would have been good enough to place him in a tie for eighth at the NFL combine among potential draftees and is only .14 of a second slower than the fastest 40-yard dash of all time.
Nfldraftscout.com has Slade rated as the 96th cornerback in this year’s draft out of 212 total cornerbacks and says his stock is improving.
On March 13, Slade traveled to Eastern Michigan University to compete in the Eagles Pro-Day, where he recorded 16 bench press reps of 225 pounds.
“I’ve been invited to a lot of camps recently,” Slade said. “I’ve been to regional combines, pro-days and super-regionals.”
Out of nearly 3,000 participants, about only 250 of these potential draftees get invited to the super-regional in Cowboys Stadium.
Slade was invited to the super-regional event after being named one of the top 10 performers in a Cleveland regional event, during which Slade was even featured on the NFL Network for a chance to showcase his skills, since Division II players are not normally as heavily scouted as Division I players.
Slade reported that he did many sprints and position drills in order to ready himself for these combines and events.
As for getting drafted, Slade stated, “I have no expectations on draft day; whatever happens, I’ll be grateful for the outcome one way or another.”
This past season, Slade was named as Ferris’ top defensive skill performer and has nothing but praise for the school and the program.
“Ferris helped me become more disciplined and more organized in life in general. It helped me grow into the man that I have now become,” Slade said.
The football team and the rest of the Ferris State community will be rooting for Slade to become the only Bulldog in the NFL. The NFL draft begins April 25 and concludes April 27.