I really think Taylor Mays is getting a bad rap because of the way he was used by his overrated defensive minded head coach Pete Carroll, who is now the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks.
Carroll had some of the best defensive talent in the country year-after-year but he wouldn’t use multiple man-to-man and zone coverages, along with blitzes to pressure college quarterbacks.
Give Nick Saban the defensive talent the Trojans have had the last decade and he might have won five or six National Championships.¬† Carroll was a great recruiter but he’s an awful defensive coach.
Carroll lined this kid up at the deep middle safety position and never brought him up and blitzed him or had him double on wide outs or man up on them.
I can’t get into all of the details of Carroll’s misuse of Mays and his teammates but I will break it down further, next Monday night at P.J. Whelihan’s on Rte. 70 in Cherry Hill at 7pm.
Back to the discussion of USC’s Taylor Mays.
Long time Tampa Bay defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin was the top rated safety, Eric Berry’s coach a year ago at Tennessee.¬† He had him blitzing from a linebacker position, doubling wide receivers from a blitz position on the line and running underneath curl routes.
If Mays had been playing for Kiffin rather than Carroll, he might be the guy slated to go in the top ten.
Mays stands 6’3″¬† and weighs 230 pounds while running a 4.3 forty yard dash.¬† He¬† showed he can cover the deep pass from sideline to sideline and knock any receiver out who dares to catch the ball in his area.
I could see him lining up in that Tampa two for Minnesota and getting fined for knocking a receiver out who was trying to catch a fade route on the sideline.
I could see him being used as a linebacker in the nickel defense or in dime.  He would have no trouble covering tight ends and running backs, but it would take a while to convert him to play linebacker on 1st and 2nd downs.
He could in time be converted to a linebacker but his speeds would make me play him at safety first.
Every receiver in the league had better get a special Mays insurance policy after they see somebody that big closing on them that fast.
I liked the way Mays moved at the combine and at his Pro Day.¬† He’s got a chip on his shoulder from listening to everyone declare that he won’t be that good.
I like the fact that he will be focusing on proving people wrong after he is drafted as compared to so many prospects who are focused on the goal of getting picked as high possible.
Being a great pro should be the goal, not getting picked as high as possible.  Some of these guys will work their butts off to get picked high, then shut it down and count their money once they get selected.
I’ve heard Mays be compared to former Dallas Cowboys and current Cincinnati Bengals receiver Roy Williams.¬† Mays runs a 4.3 and Williams runs a 4.6.¬† That’s a lifetime of difference.
There’s no way Williams is any where near being as quick as Mays.
The key to Mays’ career will be the defensive coach, whom he winds up playing for.¬† They’ve got to put him in position to succeed early on and let him grow in responsibility as he learns the NFL game.
I’d love to see him turned loose as a blitzer, then lined up deep. I’d give him the chance to knock somebody out.
I wouldnt’ have any problem with the Philadelphia Eagles drafting him because I think he’s going to surprise people.
From what I understand he’s supposed to have the hips of a LB not a safety. To me he seems like one of those workout wonders that people get infatuated with based on that alone. I’d rather take actual on the field production rather than a ‘oh I think he can be coached up’ especially in the first round of the most important draft this team has had for a long time.
Maybe a future outside linebacker with an extra 15-20 lbs
Taylor Mays is a hard hitting safety who can put fear into recievers coming over the middle. Something we have lacked since losing B-Dawk. His athletic ability makes him coachable to become a better cover safety. I hope we take him 24th overall. That would at least help me deal with this horrible offseason a little
.
Ok I’ve been won over. If mays can make the opposing teams not want to play by dishing out the pain (legally) I am all for that action. My only isssue is we would need a second 1st rounder because We NEED A CENTER. Look what happened to the O line when Jackson went down.
The sad part is Taylor Mays stock has gone up where it looks like the eagles will have to move up to get him maybe in the 19th or 20th pick.
Hey Eagles! In the words of Nike, ” Just Do It”.
I’m just not sold on him being a good S. Sure, he can hit well and run fast. Great, he’s the next Bobby Buchet from Waterboy the movie. But can he cover and read angles, and get in the right position? All the analysts say no to those questions. If he misses angles and is in the wrong place, tackling air really really hard won’t help the team. If receivers are able to catch the ball against him in coverage and elude his hits because he doesn’t have the brains and patience to not go full speed at them, he’s worthless.