2010 Senior Bowl: Taylor Mays Will Have His Day

Tennessee’s Eric Berry looks like he may be the first safety taken in this year’s NFL Draft, but USC’s Taylor Mays has perhaps the best chance of staking himself to a starting position on Sundays next year.

That might sound contradictory to all the feedback coming out of Mobile this week, where Mays has been taking hits instead of dishing them out.

The rap on Mays is that the 6'3, 231-pound safety is an astounding physical specimen, but “he is a better athlete than he is a football player,” according to Steve Meunch of ESPN.com/Scout.

We shall see.

There are questions about his pass coverage ability.  Rob Rang of NFLDraftScout.com noted that “Taylor Mays struggled to plant and drive coming out of his backpedal, looking like Fred Flintstone churning his feet without any resulting forward movement." 

"That's just guys yapping," Mays’ former coach Pete Carroll told the Seattle Times.  "That's not guys that are evaluating it, saying that. It's not guys that are going to put money on it."

But Meunch says, "You also have mixed reviews from NFL people on which position he will play; some think he is a safety, others think he will need to move to linebacker.”

Mays was always obstinate about remaining a safety rather than switching to linebacker at USC.  Strength and conditioning coaches had to be very selective in choosing a program for Mays that would keep him from ballooning above 250 pounds.

Mays’ size is a rarity among safeties.  An NFL team would relish a safety of his size who can both hit and cover.

At first glance, it seems that Mays loves to do the former rather than the latter.

"One of his big problems is that he always seems to be going for the big hit,” states Meunch.  “That is fine sometimes, we all love highlight-reel hits, but sometimes you need to play the ball.”

Meunch pointed out a particular drill this week in Mobile where Tim Tebow threw a bad pass that was intended for Anthony McCoy, but Mays missed the opportunity to make an interception because he was too focused on taking out McCoy, a former USC teammate. 

Maybe that was just how Mays learned to greet a familiar face at USC: “Hey, Brother, what’s up?” Slam!

Also, I’m sure Mays didn’t want to heap more embarrassment upon Tim Tebow with another INT in front of all those NFL scouts.

But let’s not forget this is the same Taylor Mays who was expected to be a top 15 and possibly even a top 10 pick in last year’s NFL Draft. 

Mays, however, opted to return to USC because he knew he could get better. 

So what happened between last year and this year that has caused scouts to believe Mays will be a late first-round or second-round pick?

What happened is that all of the front seven that Mays had been playing behind for two years were suddenly gone.  Most of them are now either starting or seeing significant playing time in the NFL. 

Both of his cornerbacks also left.  Terrell Thomas left two years ago and is starting for the New York Giants, while Kevin Ellison is starting for the San Diego Chargers.

His defensive coordinator also left.  His position coach, Rocky Seto, had to pull double duty as the secondary coach while taking on-the-job training as the defensive coordinator.

His best cornerback, Shareece Wright, was declared academically ineligible, and his replacement, Josh Pinkard, a gifted athlete, had not had significant playing time in two seasons due to injuries.  In fact, it was Mays who replaced Pinkard at safety two years ago.

To say that the replacement front seven had trouble shedding blockers and tackling is an understatement.  Mays needed to do a lot more roaming than he had in two previous years and, needless to say, more hitting.

The new personnel never really got up to speed with the defensive schemes and vice versa.  Instead of benefiting from his senior year, Mays became a victim of the wholesale changes that were taking place during Pete Carroll’s final season at USC.

But Mays has length, size, and speed, and he is athletic to say the least.  Can he play football? 

You bet he can, and with tenacity, too.  I think coaches and scouts will see that, if not during the Senior Bowl, then at the combines and Pro Day at USC.

A GM with a solid defensive coaching staff will see that Mays’ positives far outweigh his negatives, which can be corrected. 

Given the right situation, I expect Taylor Mays will have a surprisingly strong rookie season with the potential to become the defensive Rookie of the Year, just like former USC teammate Brian Cushing was this year.

While Mays’ star may have diminished somewhat this season, look for it to rise when the 2010 NFL season gets under way.