TAYLOR MAYS: A TROJAN SUPERMAN
Lott Profiles 0901; For use as desired
Taylor Mays wasn’t born, he was sculpted.
He shouldn’t be on a football field; he should be in a museum or an art gallery.
He looks like a model for a Mr. Universe infomercial. He has barbells for arms, telephone poles for legs.
The USC senior safety is listed at 6-4, 235 pounds. He can run a 40-yard dash in around 4.3 seconds. He has less than 5% body fat.
He’s built like a linebacker, runs like a wide receiver and plays safety. Doesn’t seem fair, does it?
Certainly not to the Trojan opponents who have been administered licks by Mays over his first three years as a starter. His tackles are more like collisions.
Mays will enter this season as the face of Trojan football. Most of his defensive teammates were selected in the NFL draft this past April where Mays himself would have been a first-round selection. Rather, he chose to stay at USC and receive his degree.
His goal in ’09 is another national championship for the Trojans. Mays is also a leading candidate for the sixth annual Lott Trophy Watch, which goes to the top college defensive player who has the biggest IMPACT* on his team both on and off the field.
(*IMPACT stands for Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity).
Before playing football at Seattle’s O’Dea High, he ran track to work on his speed. It worked. As a sophomore, Mays won both the 100-meter and 200-meter dash titles in the 3A State championships.
How fast is Taylor Mays? “He’s faster than me,” says scatback Joe McKnight. “I wish I had it, whatever he has.”
Mays, of course, has a sense of the history of the game. His father, Stafford, starred at the University of Washington as a defensive lineman and played nine seasons in the NFL. Mays wears jersey No. 2, the same number two of the great defensive backs in recent memory wore: Deion Sanders of Florida State and Charles Woodson of Michigan.
But it is Lott himself that Mays models his game after. “He’s been my favorite player. I look up to him. That’s what’s special being in this program, living up to the safeties here (at USC).”
In each of his three seasons at USC, Mays has won some form of All-American honors. The Sporting News named him the Defensive Freshman of the Year in 2006. He’s recorded 180 tackles over the years and last season the USC defense allowed only six passing touchdowns all season while collecting 19 interceptions.
Mays is far from done at USC.
“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,” he said when announcing he would return for his senior year. “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.
“It came down to whether I felt I was ready physically and mentally. I feel there are some more things in my game that I can improve upon, things that would help me take the next step. I didn’t want to sell myself short.
“Plus, I want to be here for my teammates and provide an example to them as a leader and a player. I love the camaraderie here and the atmosphere. USC is a special place. From all the players I’ve talked to in the NFL, they say it’s a whole different world up there. They enjoyed college more than the NFL. I want to enjoy my last year of fun before it turns into a business.
“I’m also on track to graduate this fall and I know that’s a big deal to my parents.
“He embodies all the virtues of staying,” says USC Coach Pete Carroll. “He wants to do this not only to improve as a player, but he’s coming back for his team, for his school and for the fans. We’re looking forward to Taylor having another outstanding season in 2009 and furthering his standing as a player and a person. He’s one of the most gifted safeties to ever play at USC and he wants to come back and do it one more time.”
Look for more from this super specimen in ’09.
Contact: Pete Donovan
The sixth annual Lott Trophy dinner will be held Dec. 13 in Newport Beach, Ca.
For more information on The Lott Trophy, go to: http://www.lotttrophy.com