Taylor Mays (born February 7, 1988) is an American football safety for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at USC. After stepping into the starting role at free safety for the USC Trojans after an injury to teammate Josh Pinkard during his freshman year, Mays missed only 4 of his 52 career games and earned All-American honors and All-Pac 10 honors three times. He ended his junior season as one of the top three finalists for the Jim Thorpe Award given to the nation's best defensive back. Mays was drafted in the second round (49th overall) of the 2010 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers. Mays was born in Seattle, Washington, the son of Stafford Mays, a former defensive lineman in the National Football League, and Laurie Mays (née Black), a Nordstrom executive. His younger brother, Parker Mays, attends Seattle Prep. He is African-American and Jewish (he was raised in his mother's Jewish religion); of his bar mitzvah, he said: "I don't think at the time I really understood what it meant. Now, looking back on it, I feel like I have come a long way in regards to maturity and becoming an adult. I think it helped me do that." His father
It's no secret that NFL rookie Taylor Mays harbors some bitterness toward his former USC coach Pete Carroll -- but during last night's Sunday Night Football game, dude took a shot at the whole… READ MORE >
