Matthew Slater almost chose Dartmouth over UCLA
"I actually committed to go to Dartmouth out of high school, and was dead-set on going there."
How different things might have been for Patriots special teams ace Matthew Slater had he gone with his original college choice. As Slater recently relayed in an interview, he was originally committed to attend Dartmouth for college, instead of his ultimate choice, UCLA.
Speaking to WEEI afternoon radio show Dale & Holley with Keefe, Slater described how he nearly ended up playing for Big Green instead of the Bruins.
“USC was in the mix, but I actually committed to go to Dartmouth out of high school, and was dead-set on going there,” Slater said in describing his college options. “And at the last minute, [I] de-committed and went to UCLA.”
Slater was listed by recruiting website Rivals as a three-star prospect coming out of high school and had offers from traditional football powerhouses like Notre Dame and USC. Still, he was taken with the idea of getting the best education possible.
As he described, it was partly instilled by his father, NFL Hall of Fame tackle Jackie Slater:
I took a visit out there, met with the coaches several times, my family and I went out there, and the thing that really jumped out at us was the opportunity to receive one of the best educations that this country has to offer. Obviously my dad understood that there are no guarantees with football, and he was a heavy influence on me deciding to go to Dartmouth initially. But I think at the end of the day, it was a little bit too far from home.
Slater would make a name for himself on special teams at UCLA, scoring three kickoff return touchdowns and setting a record for return yards. The Patriots astutely picked him in the fifth round of the 2008 draft, and the 32-year-old has subsequently made six Pro Bowls and been named a First-team All-Pro four times.
