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Chase Daniel will make Detroit Lions' locker room 'better.' Just ask his college coach

Free Press sports writer Dave Birkett breaks down the Detroit Lions' decision to trade Darius Slay to the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday, March 19, 2020. Detroit Free Press

Fifteen years ago, Gary Pinkel got his first hint at what kind of person, leader and football player Chase Daniel would become.

It happened with a simple phone call. A college football coach fraught with worry on one end and his prized quarterback recruit on the other.

In January 2005, Pinkel just completed his fourth year as coach at Missouri, a program that had been mired in mediocrity seemingly forever.