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Audio Interview -- Player Spotlight (01.29.10) -- LISTEN

Interview With Taylor Mays At The Senior Bowl (01.27.10)

SCOUT'S TAKE

Pros: Mays has great measurables—he stands around 6-3, weighs 230 pounds, and can runs a 4.4 forty. He is a prototypical center-fielder, displaying elite range, intensity, terrific instincts, and a great motor.

Cons: On the downside, he sometimes takes bad angles to the football and relies too much on his pure speed as opposed to proper technique. If Mays can improve in these areas, he could be a top-ten pick in next April’s Draft. While Mays has eye-popping measureables and possesses an impressive physical body carved like an ice sculpture, the knock on Mays is his lack of play-making ability.

Skinny: A four-year starter at free safety, Taylor has earned a reputation for laying the lumber. The Seattle native is a two-time All American and leading contender for the 2009 Thorpe Award entering his senior season. Mays finished with 53 tackles and team-high nine deflections in 2008. Arthroscopic surgery on his ankle was required prior to the spring of ’08 but Mays showed no ill-effects from the injury during last season.

Stock: Mays is the top overall senior prospect going into the season, and has the size and speed that the NFL looks for at the safety position. Some scouts believe that Mays is a game-changing player in the mold of the Ravens’ Ed Reed or the Steelers’ Troy Polamalu. Many thought that Mays would come out for this past April’s draft and if he had, he would have been a first-round pick. Should he flash those change-gaming capabilities during his final year at USC, expect him to solidy his status as a potential top-ten overall pick in next year’s draft.

Quote of Note: "He's the biggest, strongest, fastest guy that you're going to find," Carroll said. "His numbers are enormous, but what makes him who he is, he's really a diligent competitor. He applies himself in every way that he knows. He eats right, sleeps right, takes care of himself, does his schoolwork, does everything. He studies the game of football as much as any pro studies the game of football day-to-day during the course of a game week.

-- USC Head Coach Pete Carroll on Taylor Mays

NEWS

01.31.10 - Taylor Mays (USC) – Yes, he is a safety, but he could easily slip down into a linebacker slot with his weight, aggressiveness, and coverage skills. Most teams will likely keep him at safety. – Atlanta Journal Constitution

Senior Bowl: USC defensive back Taylor Mays was jacked up and may have passed this morning's "Eye Test" as good if not better than anyone, but after weighing in at 235 pounds, many scouts are whispering that he might fit best up at OLB in the NFL after struggling in pass coverage at times during his college career. – January 25, 2010

(2009 Emerald Bowl) Although Mays possesses eye-catching height, weight, and straight-line speed, he continually shows poor awareness in pass coverage. He takes a poor angle in the first-quarter and ends up arriving late on a sideline completion. Mays looks like a fish out of water on a 61-yard touchdown pass to Rich Gunnell. Measureables will only take the safety so far if he continues getting caught out of position.

12.05.09 - The two-time All-American safety was seen as a possible top-five pick in 2009. But after a season that fell below USC's standards and earned him criticism, scouts say his stock has dropped a little. NFL scouts cite a lack of interceptions. They question his hands, tackling and playmaking skills. Mays struggled through a knee injury that sidelined him for a September loss at Washington -- the only game he sat out in four seasons -- and he got blindsided in October when a California congressman, Rep. Dan Lungren (R-Gold River), referred to him, though not by name, as a "headhunter" during the House Judiciary Committee hearing on NFL head injuries. He is a more productive tackler. Despite lining up 10 or more yards off the ball, Mays leads the Trojans with 82 stops. That's 29 more than last season, with two games left to play. But with only one interception this season and five in his career, there is still the perception by some that Mays underachieved. "If it doesn't happen the way I dreamed of, well, that happens," Mays said. "That's when you see guys play inspired and with a chip on your shoulder, like you want to rip somebody's head off." – Los Angeles Times

09.12.09 - USC safety Taylor Mays suffered a sprained knee against Ohio State but missed just a few plays and isn’t expected to miss any time due to the injury.

05.18.09 – Mays, who says his body fat is about 5 percent of his total weight, plans to trim down to around 230 pounds in time for the season and has another idea to boost his flexibility: "My girlfriend and I are going to start taking that [Bikram] yoga." He didn't get timed in the 40 this spring because coaches didn't want to risk his pulling a muscle. "I didn't run, but I feel faster this year," Mays says. "Seriously, I am. I ran that time last year coming off ankle surgery, and this year I've taken better care of my body during the season, and my diet has been more consistent."

01.13.09 - All-American safety Taylor Mays has decided to return to Southern California for his senior season rather than turn pro. "There are a lot more things I want to accomplish as a player, a student and a person, things that I've dreamed about for a long time and that are big goals to me," Mays said in a statement issued by the school Tuesday. "Returning to USC will help me be the best player I can be and put me in the best position possible for the next level." Mays, a three-year starter, was one of three finalists for the Thorpe Award as the country's top defensive back. Malcolm Jenkins of Ohio State won the award.

01.05.09 - Decision Time: Taylor Mays

12.01.08 - Mays took over the free safety position for USC in his freshman year when Josh Pinkard was lost for the year in the season opener. He led the Trojans in picks his freshman year and earned several honors. Mays continued his strong play in 2007 starting all 13 games and being among the leading tacklers for USC. At 6-3, 230, the Jim Thorpe Award finalist has the size to lay the wood to opponents, but also has the speed and athleticism. Considering the 2009 draft class is not overly abundant at the position, Mays could very well come out early and be a first round pick.

06.09.08 - Mays' workout numbers are ridiculous. He's 6-3, 226 pounds, with 6 percent body fat and ran an electronically timed 40 this spring in 4.32 seconds. He did 26 reps with 225 pounds while also vertical jumping 41 inches and doing a standing broad jump of 11-4. (As evidence in his growth, Mays arrived at USC weighing 215 and posted a vertical jump of 35 inches and a broad jump of 10-0.) Asked if he's even seen anything that big, move that fast, USC strength coach Chris Carlisle paused for a few moments: "Maybe when I walked by the cheetah cage at the wildlife park." Mays' athleticism actually presents USC with a different kind of issue: a talent with such growth potential that you have to guard against him outgrowing the position. "Our big thing is he could get too big too fast," says Carlisle, who also gushes about the player's work ethic. "He could easily be like his daddy [former NFL defensive lineman Stafford Mays] so we have to make him better without making him bigger because he could be like 260 in a month."

VITALS

High School: He was named a 2005 Parade All-American (he was the defensive back MVP), USA Today All-USA first team, EA Sports All-American first team, Super Prep Elite 50, Prep Star Dream Team, ESPN 150, Super Prep All-American, Prep Star All-American, U.S. Army All-American Game participant, Old Spice Red Zone Player of the Year, Super Prep All-Farwest, Prep Star All-Western, Long Beach Press-Telegram Best in the West first team, Orange County Register Fab 15 first team, Tacoma News-Tribune Western 100, Tacoma News Tribune Northwest Nugget, Gatorade Washington Player of the Year, All-State first team and All-Metro League Mountain Division Offensive MVP and Defensive Co-MVP pick as a senior defensive back, wide receiver and quarterback at O'Dea High in Seattle, Wash. He had 166 tackles, 5 interceptions returned for 98 yards (19.6 avg.) and 5 deflections in 2005, plus caught 36 passes for 765 yards (21.3 avg.) with 15 TDs and rushed for 3 more scores. As a junior in 2004, he made Student Sports Junior All-American while posting 89 tackles, 5 interceptions and 5 deflections, catching 25 passes for 614 yards (20.6 avg.) with 7 TDs and returning 12 punts for 392 yards (32.7 avg.) with 3 TDs. He also ran track (best of 10.88 in the 100 meters) at O'Dea, where he was a 2-time (2004-05) state 3A champion in the 100 and 200 meters.

Bloodlines: He's a sociology major at USC. His father, Stafford Mays, was a defensive lineman at Washington in 1978 and 1979 who then played in the NFL with the St. Louis Cardinals (1980-86) and Minnesota Vikings (1987-88 when current USC head coach Pete Carroll was an assistant coach there).