Dwayne Slay attended Brunswick High School in Brunswick, Georgia where he played basketball and football. He was named MVP of the basketball team as a senior. He earned all-district honors as a junior in football. As a senior he totaled 102 tackles and 5 interceptions on his way to all-district and all-conference honors. He went on to Reedley College in Reedley, California where he would play the next two seasons. He started every game in his two years at Reedley, helping the team to a 21-2 record during that time period. He was one of the top junior college prospects and was recruited by Kansas State, Oregon, South Carolina, and Kentucky, but he opted to transfer to Texas Tech instead of those other schools. He saw action in 11 games his first year at Texas Tech, totaling 23 tackles and 2 interceptions on the year. He had his best season as a senior, totaling 101 tackles, 2 interceptions, and a school record 8 forced fumbles on the year. He was named first team all-conference for his play as a senior.

Dwayne Slay has outstanding size for a NFL safety. He is a great run defender who is like an extra linebacker in the defensive backfield. He is an extremely hard hitter and a very good tackler. He is also very good on the blitz. He is very aggressive but he can be overaggressive at times. He will miss some tackles while trying to go for the big hit. He lacks a great deal of experience, having only started one full season at the division I level. Dwayne lacks the speed and athleticism you like to see in a defensive back. He doesn’t have fluid hips and he struggles in coverage. Dwayne Slay was a very productive safety at Texas Tech last season, however his lack of speed and athleticism along with the fact that he is a liability in coverage, should drop him to the second day in the 2006 NFL draft.