returners to help minimize kick return yardage. In the year, he made nine tackles, including six solo tackles. As a senior in 2007, Slater played in 13 games and made 25 tackles. He also returned kicks for the Bruins. He returned 34 kicks for a 29.0-yard average and 3 touchdowns which tied the lead in the nation and set the UCLA record. Slater also tied the Pac-10 season record, set by Anthony Davis in 1974. Slater's 29.0-yard kickoff return average was first in the Pac-10 and 12th-best in the country. He was a first-team All-Pac 10 selection as the kick returner. Slater's 986 kickoff return yards were also a new UCLA single-season record. Professional career 2008 season: Rookie year Slater was drafted in the fifth round, 153rd overall, of the 2008 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots, who traded up with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before drafting Slater. Matthew's father, Jackie Slater, was pleased with the selection and told the Boston Herald that he received phone calls from "scouts, administrators in the NFL who knew me and my son, and they said, ‘Jackie, this could not be a better fit for your son to start being a pro football player.'" Slater was one of two players selected in the 2008 Draft (the other being Chris Long), and the sixth in the history of the NFL Draft, who is a son of a Hall of Fame member. Slater played in 14 games in his rookie 2008 season, returning 11 kickoffs for 155 yards and recording 12 tackles on special teams. 2009 season In the 2009 season, Slater was active for 14 games for the Patriots, recording six tackles on special teams, while recording one rush for six yards as a wide receiver. He also returned 11 kickoffs for 269 yards, a 24.5 average. Slater had a career-high 35-yard kickoff return in the regular-season finale against the Houston Texans. He also played in a reserve role at wide receiver and on special teams coverage units in the postseason game against the Baltimore Ravens. In that game, Slater had two kickoff returns for 46 yards and a special teams tackle. 2010 season In 2010, Slater did not record any offensive or defensive statistics and did not return any kicks or punts. However, he led the team with 21 special teams tackles in 15 games played. 2011 season In the 2011 season, Slater