Taylor Mays facts for kids
Mays with the Oakland Raiders in 2015
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| Washington Huskies | |||||||||||
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| Position: | Safeties coach | ||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Born: | February 7, 1988 Irving, Texas, U.S. |
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| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||||
| Weight: | 236 lb (107 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| High school: | O'Dea (Seattle, Washington) | ||||||||||
| College: | USC (2006–2009) | ||||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 2010 / Round: 2 / Pick: 49 | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
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| As coach: | |||||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||
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| Player stats at PFR | |||||||||||
Taylor Mays (born February 7, 1988) is a former American football player. He played as a safety in the National Football League (NFL). In high school, he was a track star, winning state titles in the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes. He later focused on football.
Mays played college football for the USC Trojans. He was named a first-team All-American three times. The San Francisco 49ers picked him in the second round of the 2010 NFL draft. He also played for the Cincinnati Bengals and Oakland Raiders. Taylor Mays played in 66 regular season NFL games during his career.
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Early Life and Family
Taylor Mays was born in Irving, Texas. His father, Stafford Mays, was also an NFL player. His mother, Laurie Mays, was a business executive. Taylor Mays is African-American and Jewish. He was raised in his mother's Jewish faith. He went to Sunday school and Hebrew school when he was young.
In February 2001, he had a football-themed bar mitzvah. He later said this event helped him grow up. His family always celebrated Jewish holidays like Chanukah, Passover, and Yom Kippur.
Taylor's father played defensive tackle for the University of Washington. He also played for the Minnesota Vikings in the NFL. His mother worked as an executive vice president at Nordstrom. His father worked at Microsoft.
From a young age, Taylor loved football. His father remembers him doing homework with his football helmet on at 14. Taylor also watched many old football games his father played in. His parents first wanted him to play soccer. But he was very physical and bigger than other kids. This led them to let him try out for football in 7th grade.
College Football Career
Taylor Mays earned an athletic scholarship to the University of Southern California. He played for the USC Trojans football team from 2006 to 2009. His coach was Pete Carroll.
Freshman Year (2006)
Mays started as a free safety in his freshman year. This happened after another player, Josh Pinkard, got injured. His first college interception was against Washington State. He had 62 tackles and led his team with 3 interceptions.
In 2006, Mays was named the Pac-10's Co-Freshman of The Year. He also earned Second-team All-American honors. Many were surprised by his speed. His coach said Mays was the fastest player on the team. He was clocked at an amazing 4.25 seconds in the 40-yard dash. This was almost as fast as the NFL Combine record. Mays said he looked up to famous safeties like Ronnie Lott and Sean Taylor. After his freshman year, he changed his jersey number from 29 to 2.
Sophomore Year (2007)
Mays returned as the starting safety in 2007. He played alongside Kevin Ellison, who he called his mentor. One of his best games was against California. He made 10 tackles and broke up 3 passes. This helped his team win 24–17. He also had a career-high 12 tackles against the Oregon.
Mays finished the season with 65 tackles, 6 pass deflections, and 1 interception. He earned Third-team All-American honors from the Associated Press. He was also named First-team All-American by Sporting News.
After the 2007 season, ESPN The Magazine featured Mays. They called him a "Workout Warrior." He was 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighed 226 pounds. He had only 6% body fat. He ran a 4.32-second 40-yard dash. He also lifted 225 pounds 23 times on the bench press. His vertical jump was 41 inches.
Junior Year (2008)
Before the 2008 season, Mays was named a Preseason All-American. He was also on watch lists for top defensive player awards. Mays considered leaving USC early for the 2009 NFL Draft. But he decided to wait until after the season.
The USC defense was one of the best in the nation in 2008. They allowed only 6 touchdowns through the air. They also had 19 interceptions. Mays was a key part of this success. He had 8 pass deflections, helping stop many plays. He had a great game against California. He made several big hits that forced receivers to drop the ball.
Mays finished his junior season as a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award. This award goes to the best defensive back. He earned First-Team All-American honors from several sources. He was also named All-Pac-10 First-Team.
On January 13, Mays announced he would return to USC for his senior year. Many thought he would be a first-round pick in the 2009 NFL Draft. But he chose to finish his education. He also wanted one last chance to help USC win the BCS National Championship.
Senior Year (2009)
For his last season, Mays wanted a different role in the defense. He wanted to be more involved in the action. His coach, Pete Carroll, agreed to change his duties. In his final year, he had a career-high 96 total tackles. He also added another interception.
In October, he was named a midseason All-American. Mays was named First-team All-Pac 10 for the second year in a row. He also earned First-team All-America honors for the third straight season.
Professional Football Career
Before the NFL Draft
Before his first NFL season, Mays was seen as a top talent for the 2010 NFL draft. People compared him to other great safeties. He participated in the 2010 Senior Bowl. He also attended the NFL Scouting Combine. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.43 seconds. This was the fastest time among safeties.
Most experts thought Mays would be picked in the second round. He had been projected as a first-round pick the year before. But some teams worried about his pass coverage skills. He was ranked the second-best free safety prospect.
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand size | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | Wonderlic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 3+1⁄8 in (1.91 m) |
230 lb (104 kg) |
34 in (0.86 m) |
10+1⁄4 in (0.26 m) |
4.43 s | 1.56 s | 2.58 s | 4.24 s | 6.98 s | 41.0 in (1.04 m) |
10 ft 5 in (3.18 m) |
24 reps | 22 |
| All values from NFL Combine/Pro Day | ||||||||||||
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers picked Mays in the second round of the 2010 NFL draft. He was the fifth safety chosen that year. On July 30, 2010, Mays signed a four-year contract with the 49ers.
After playing only on special teams for three games, Mays became a starter. He played strong safety in Week 4 against the Atlanta Falcons. He had 11 tackles in that game. He also scored a touchdown on special teams from a blocked punt. After this game, Mays became the regular starting strong safety.
Cincinnati Bengals (First Time)
On August 22, 2011, Mays was traded to the Cincinnati Bengals. The 49ers traded him for a seventh-round draft pick. This trade happened because the 49ers' coach who drafted him was fired.
In 2012, he played in all 16 games for the Bengals. He started 3 of those games. After the 2013 season, the Bengals signed Mays again for one year. He played in all 16 games for the Bengals in 2014. He started 10 games and had 98 tackles. He also had 21 tackles on special teams. He played safety and sometimes linebacker.
Other NFL Teams
Mays signed with the Minnesota Vikings on March 24, 2015. He was released in June. The Detroit Lions then signed Mays on June 22, 2015. They released him in August.
On August 25, 2015, Mays signed with the Oakland Raiders. He was released before the season started. But he re-signed with the Raiders on September 14, 2015. This was because two starting safeties were injured.
Cincinnati Bengals (Second Time)
On March 17, 2016, the Bengals signed Mays again. He signed a one-year contract.
Saskatchewan Roughriders
On October 9, 2017, Mays joined the Saskatchewan Roughriders. This team is in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played one game for them the next month. Mays was released in April 2018.
Career Statistics
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Comb | Total | Ast | Sck | SFTY | PDef | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FF | FR | ||
| 2010 | SF | 16 | 6 | 38 | 31 | 7 | 0.0 | 0 | 2 | -- | -- | 0.0 | -- | -- | 1 | -- |
| 2011 | CIN | 10 | 0 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0.0 | -- | 1 | -- | -- | 0.0 | -- | -- | 0 | -- |
| 2012 | CIN | 16 | 3 | 22 | 14 | 8 | 0.0 | -- | 0 | -- | -- | 0.0 | -- | -- | 0 | 1 |
| 2013 | CIN | 8 | 1 | 19 | 12 | 7 | 0.0 | -- | 3 | -- | -- | 0.0 | -- | -- | 0 | 1 |
| 2014 | CIN | 16 | 0 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | -- | -- | 0.0 | -- | -- | 0 | -- |
| 2015 | OAK | 14 | 5 | 26 | 18 | 8 | 0.0 | -- | 5 | -- | -- | 0.0 | -- | -- | 0 | -- |
Coaching Career
After his playing career, Mays became a defensive analyst for USC in 2022. A defensive analyst helps coaches study game film and plan strategies.
In December 2023, Mays became the interim safeties coach at USC. This means he temporarily took over the role. He was praised for helping the USC secondary players improve their tackling.
In January 2025, Mays was named the safeties coach at Washington.
Honors and Awards
On June 26, 2011, Taylor Mays was inducted into the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.
In 2018, Mays was honored by his high school. He was inducted into The O'Dea High School Athletic Wall of Honor.
Personal Life
The Mays family lives in the Magnolia neighborhood of Seattle.
See also
- List of select Jewish football players
