100 in 100: Taylor Mays (43 of 100)
by Drew Kerr on Feb 23, 2010 2:00 PM PST
in 100 in 100 (2010)
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Here we go...
Taylor Mays... next to Florida Quarterback Tim Tebow, Mays has received mass amounts of criticism for his supposed inhability to wrap up, going for the knockout hit, and taking bad angles. On the other side of this, the biggest critics have forgot to factor in that he did not receive the best coaching that there is out there. Pete Carroll and the USC Coaching Staff told him to do a job and Mays followed through with what his coaches told him to do. When he was at the Senior Bowl, the coaches told him to do something different from what he was used to and he went out there and did. End result; Mays stepped in front of a pass thrown by Cincinnati Quarterback Tony Pike and intercepted it. On Mays' very first tackle, he came up for the big hit and missed but there were other plays in that game afterwards where Mays had made the correction was wrapping up when making the tackle. The one thing that few have come to realize about Taylor Mays, is that he is highly adaptable and very coachable. Couple that with his natural athleticism and you potentially have a great safety in the making. Everything that Mays has struggled with are small things that can be corrected at the next level if he lands somewhere that will take the time to teach him. The one thing Mays has going for him, is his ability to listen, soak something in, and implement it on the playing field.
Some people have Texas safety Earl Thomas rated higher than Mays as a safety. In my personal observation, I have to disagree. I don't know if Mays can reach the same heights as an Eric Berry, but he does match up in athleticism. If he is directed the right way, the sky is the limit for Taylor Mays.
The USC Safety has four years of college football under his belt and it has been widely speculated that the players that stay longer in college have a better chance to excel at the next level. Now I don't know if that's true or not, but either way I think that Mays made the right decision to stay for his Senior year.
His father, Stafford Mays, played defensive line for the St. Louis Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings. His career lasted about 8 years from the late 70's to the late 80's. Coach Pete Carroll was a defensive backs coach during that time for the Vikings.
At a very young age, Mays always had the desire to play football and watched alot of film of his Dad when he played. Initially Mays' parents would not allow him to play American Football so he opted for the "other type of football" (a.k.a. Soccer). Eventually his parents would give in to Mays' push to play and he began his journey in the 7th grade... the rest is history.
After the jump, we'll look at some of Mays' Highlights/ Lowlights, his stats, and other accomplishments. I will then at the end provide a projection as to where I think the USC Safety will be selected in this years draft.
Normally I provide commentary on what I observed from the video but I have watched enough live game action from Mays to know what is there. I'd like for everyone to draw there own conclusions here and comment below since Mays is one of the more contraversial guys coming out this year.
AWARDS AND HONORS:
- 2006 Second Team All-American
- 2007 First Team All-American
- 2008 First team All-American
- 2008 First Team All-Pac 10
- 2008 Jim Thorpe Award Finalist
- 2009 First Team All-American
- 2009 First Team All-Pac 10
CAREER STATS:
| Stats Overview | Tackles | Misc | Interceptions | |||||||||||
| YEAR | TOT | SOLO | AST | SACK | STF | STFY | FF | BK | INT | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD | PD |
| 2006 | 62 | 38 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 40 | 13.3 | 38 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 | 65 | 36 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2008 | 53 | 38 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 | 88 | 45 | 43 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 Regular Season Game Log | Tackles | Misc | Interceptions | |||||||||||||
| DATE | OPP | RESULT | TOT | SOLO | AST | SACK | STF | STFY | FF | BK | INT | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD | PD |
| 9/5 | San Jose State | W 56-3 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9/12 | @Ohio State | W 18-15 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9/19 | @Washington | L 16-13 | Did Not Play or did not accumulate any stats. | |||||||||||||
| 9/26 | Washington State | W 27-6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10/3 | @California | W 30-3 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10/17 | @Notre Dame | W 34-27 | 9 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10/24 | Oregon State | W 42-36 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10/31 | @Oregon | L 47-20 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11/7 | @Arizona State | W 14-9 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11/14 | Stanford | L 55-21 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 11/28 | UCLA | W 28-7 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12/5 | Arizona | L 21-17 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2009 Postseason Game Log | Tackles | Misc | Interceptions | |||||||||||||
| BOWL | OPP | RESULT | TOT | SOLO | AST | SACK | STF | STFY | FF | BK | INT | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD | PD |
| EMERALD BOWL | Boston College | W 24-13 | Did Not Play or did not accumulate any stats. | |||||||||||||
SUMMARY AND PROJECTION:
Mays is built somewhat close to how an Outside Linebacker is built but has the speed of a safety or Corner. Alot of speculation has been that Mays will be drafted as an Outside Linebacker but I see him solely as a Safety who will be moved up in to the box at times and used more as a hybrid type of player. I think he can be successful at safety and I dont thin there is any reason to move him to Outside Linebacker. Mays should be a 1st Round selection but has the chance to slip if he has a bad combine outing.
Possibilities -- 1st Round; Possible teams: Giants, 49ers, Seahawks, Texans, Jets, Ravens, Cowboys, Cardinals. Picks 10-32.
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One point regarding coaching (and this applies to all NCAA athletes)
NCAA rules actually limit the amount of coaching that you can do. Coaches get three weeks with the players in spring training then August rolls around and you’re into the season and don’t have the time to really work on specific sets.
Most of the spring training is learning playbook and position, but three weeks isn’t much, especially when they don’t work like the pros do.
During the season you’re reviewing game film, doing conditioning and preparing for the next game.
Yes Drew K, Tim Tebow will probably get picked in the first round.
I really don't see much that Mays could add to what we already have
He looks decent at run support, but he’s appears to have really bad tackling skills, not all that great at coverage. If anything he would end up being a project. If we take him I’d personally be begging to concurrently bring in Ronnie Lott to be his personal mentor!
There were "highlights" in that video?
Feels like we may have changed the definition of highlight. I know he’s some kind of physical freak, but he plays with no natural feel. I’d be willing to part with a 3rd round pick on someone that is two years away from making an impact. That’s it though.
I don't like Mays
I watched a bunch of USC games over the last few years hoping to, but he just never did anything for me.
The tackling thing isn’t that big of a deal to me, but the instincts are. What good is the speed if you throw it away with missed steps at the beginning?
I also noticed that in run support he doesn’t usually come up to make the tackle, but holds his ground and just tries to hang on when the runner reaches him. I could see him getting juked or just flat run over by NFL backs if that doesn’t change.
by microwave donut on Feb 23, 2010 2:38 PM PST reply actions
reminds of a worse Michael Lewis
as Mays would be leaned upon to provide more run support than pass coverage. Lewis has been great for us but I worry about those concussions piling up and the impact on his long-term health.
Here we go
Was the perfect way 2 start that article because i do feel like mays is over hyped ,and he played hisself staying in a extra year where i think he could of been at least a top 5 for sure a top ten .And 2 think he’s better than earl thomas got me choking on my cereal, now where stooping 2 he wasn’t coached right so that defense who was ranked top 10 the last couple of years and as soon as oregon knocked them off there high porch NOW he was’nt coached right well the combine will help a little bit but i’m crossing my fingers the niners dont pick him up 2 think he just need 2 go somewhere where he can get coached right well good we dont have the time 2 let him find his way 2 a interception or a tackle 4 that point yea i know ronnie lott is from there but mays isn’t close 2 holding his jock strap.But i can tell from that article that there sweet on mays good keep being sweet on him while we grab earl thomas we already got a hard hitting safety that wraps up all we need is a ball hawk like earl the pearl go longhorns!
Wow that's hard to read.
They call their best player "Kung Fu Panda" and they complain that people aren’t taking them or the game seriously enough? -Nick
P.S
The angles he takes or horrible and if he does that in the drills this weekend he would be piicken in the 2nd round instead of the a late first.
Just from that video:
Fast, super strong, AWFUL tackler, not good in coverage.
He’d be an asset to a team needing help against the run, but not at the expense of the passing game, which is where we need help.
They call their best player "Kung Fu Panda" and they complain that people aren’t taking them or the game seriously enough? -Nick
No thanks he can’t cover or tackle
49ers Al Grito De Guerra!!! hahaha
by 49erSalvatrucha on Feb 23, 2010 4:25 PM PST reply actions
I'd take Thomas over Mays right now
I think like mikev said if we were strong in coverage but got ran all over it would be a no brainer. But Thomas (as far as picking between those two) much better suits our needs.
Drew
I don’t get why you always say that Mays wasn’t coached well at USC and how he was just doing what Carroll and coaches told him to do. You are saying they told him to lay the wood and not wrap up? To go for the hit vs. the INT? Carroll was a DB coach back in days, I’m sure he knows what’s important for DBs and can coach them. Also, that the Sr Bowl coaches told him differently and he did it? I just don’t get where you are getting all this from. It’s great things to say, but how do you know he is coachable and can do whatever is asked of him?
My opinion…he is freak athletically, CAN be taught how to wrap up, but lacks instincts to read the ball and take proper angles.
would love it if he came o the niners. he is a freak athletically and would provide speed that the defense just doesnt have right now
At USC we're not snobs, we're just better than you.
I wasn't aware that Dashon Goldson was slow....
I guess all that hype about his “range” must be a lie?
/sarcasm
What we've got here is a failure to communicate.
by SportsChicken on Feb 24, 2010 5:49 PM PST up reply actions
Obviously I'm going to have a UT bias
But when you said that you thought Mays could be over Earl Thomas, I couldn’t help but feel like you didn’t watch Texas play much. If Earl had been a senior, you would likely have seen him way out produce Mays in the senior bowl.
TEXAS FIGHT
As another UT fan
I don’t want Earl Thomas in the first round. At all. Under no circumstance.
I’d rather have Nate Allen in the 2nd round.
Nate Allen
Good call.
He’s a bit underrated but I think he’s a great football player.
What we've got here is a failure to communicate.
by SportsChicken on Feb 24, 2010 5:50 PM PST up reply actions
pretty terrible video
Tough to see who Mays is until after the play.
Not too many highlights from Mays himself on it either. Doesn’t wrap, misreads angles, etc. Not sure how much of that could really be improved with coaching—I just don’t know.
Jason Hill is turning the corner!
yes, il take him, an yes in the first round, his mistakes can be corrected an he jus seems lik a singeltary guy, an he will eventually take lewis spot, an goldshon is going get better an have more intercepts this year anyway dont want to c him move out of his position..
That would make sense
Drafting him to play SS. However he better go onto be the best run stopping SS in the league if going to use a 1st round pick on him.
Anyone know his 40 time?
If he’s so fast and an athletic freak, you should all know where he’s going and I believe they have the 8th overall pick. Just sayin. Davis has made worse reaches for speedy players. DHB, anyone?
4.4-ish
At 230 pounds, that’s amazing.
What we've got here is a failure to communicate.
by SportsChicken on Feb 24, 2010 5:51 PM PST up reply actions
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