"I'm biased, but I think he's the best \[special teams\] player in the NFL," Slater said of Schooler. "The tape speaks for itself. That's the greatest compliment you can pay any player. Doesn't matter the game. Doesn't matter the phase. He's having an impact. When I think about the Pro Bowl and these things, it's the guys who go about the process the right way, respect the game, and impact the game week in and week out, even when other teams know that they're going to do that. This guy does that as well as anyone in our league."
"It's built around him. Special teams is the ultimate team thing, team concept. But when you have a player like that, you try to highlight him and use his strengths as much as you can. We're fortunate to have a game-changer like him. We're going to do a lot of things to try to put him in position to make plays because we know he can. We build a lot of what we do around \[No.\] 41," Slater continued.
To fully document the mentorship between Schooler and Slater, we must go back to Schooler's rookie season. Schooler made the initial 53-man roster as an undrafted rookie in the summer of 2022, following a standout preseason where Slater recalled it was clear the former Texas Longhorn would be sticking around as the next-in-line coverage ace.
"As a rookie, to come in and really catch on so quickly to what we were doing was really impressive. Then he went out in the preseason, and it felt like he was making a play in every game. But I don't think that was by accident. I think you saw the way he prepared himself that this kid might be special," Slater reminisced. "Once we were two games into the preseason, it became pretty evident this guy's gonna be around here in some capacity."
For Schooler, the opportunity to learn from one of the all-time greats on special teams was one he relishes to this day. The current Patriot points out that Slater still gives him pointers in his first season on head coach Jerod Mayo's staff.
"You talk about someone who's been more than just a mentor, a friend, a teammate, an example, and a leader for not only the team but for myself. To be able to be part of such a unique and special friendship that we have and a bond that hopefully will last longer than I play football here, it's just been incredible," Schooler said. "He has taught me more about life than anything, which I think relates back to football in a lot of ways that people don't understand."
"Just him teaching me the approach to the game mentally in the film room and on the field. I still try to emulate that and still try to pick up those little nuggets that he continues to drop in meetings. He showed me how a true pro approaches the film room, how he approaches practice, and how he approaches pre-game. Just being a little fly on the wall and seeing how he does everything," Schooler explained.