USC’s safety, Taylor Mays clocked an official time of 4.43 in the 40-yard dash becoming the fastest safety ever.
Weighing around 230 pounds, Taylor Mays looked larger than all of the 57 defensive backs, well except for one. Earlier he was awarded an unofficial time of 4.24 but was later adjusted to 4.43 which made him the fastest defensive back. Mays unofficial time of 4.24 could have tied him with Tennessee Titan’s Chris Johnson who still holds the best time ever in the 40-yard dash.
Taylor Mays was born on February 7, 1988 in Seattle, Washington. He is the son of Stafford Mays, former defensive lineman in the NFL. He attended O’Dea High School before being picked by USC’s coaches Rocky Seto and Greg Burns.
Mays first break came with the USC’s team in the 2006 season when their safety John Pinkard was sidelined for the whole season with an injury. Since then Mays has started in all the games USC played. He was named in the All-American Second team in his first season.
The next season Mays was named in the All-American First team and since then has been continuingly featuring in the First team lineup. He was also one of the finalists for the Jim Thorpe Award and made it twice into the First-team All Pac-10 in the 2008 and 2009 season.
Taylor Mays is now one of the favorites to be picked in the top 10 in the NFL’s 2010 draft. He is regarded as the No.2 safety only behind Eric Berry in the draft. Berry finished with a time of 4.47 seconds.