WSU Football | Mays has earned trust of his coach

One year ago, Taylor Mays was starting for O'Dea High School against Bishop Blanchet.

On Saturday, the free safety will start for USC at Washington State on national television.

It will be Mays' third start of the season for the third-ranked Trojans (3-0, 1-0). He moved into the lineup when junior Josh Pinkard suffered a season-ending knee injury against Arkansas in the opener.

Mays said coach Pete Carroll approached him early in the week of the Nebraska game and said, "We think you're ready and we trust you."

Mays has responded with two solid performances against the Cornhuskers and Arizona.

Mays is a gilded recruit who chose USC over Michigan and Washington. His father, Stafford, was a Huskies defensive tackle in 1978 and 1979 before an eight-year NFL career with St. Louis and Minnesota.

Stafford Mays, a Microsoft executive, said the final decision on which scholarship to accept was his son's.

"Laurie and I gave him about 97 percent of the decision-making," Stafford said. "He's the one who earned it. He's been a great son and made great decisions." (Taylor's mother, Laurie Black, is executive vice president in charge of cosmetics for Nordstrom.)

There was a Mays link with USC because Carroll was on the Vikings' staff in 1987 and 1988 as defensive-backs coach when Stafford played there. The men gave each other a hug on Taylor's recruiting trip and Carroll has kidded Taylor with remarks such as "Don't have stone hands like your father."

At 6 feet 4, 225 pounds, Taylor is bigger than most safeties but has the speed to handle the position. He was state Class 3A 100-meter (10.88 seconds) and 200-meter (22.27) champion as a sophomore in 2004. He was injured and unable to defend his titles in 2005 and chose not to turn out for track last season.

"Looking back on it, I wish I would have run," Mays said in a telephone interview Wednesday after being the last player off the Trojans' practice field.

Mays is benefiting from the USC policy under Carroll of showing no hesitation to use true freshmen.

"We have recruited guys with the idea that they will play and contribute early, and it forces them to show whether they are able to," said Carroll. He said the policy also creates more competition on the team.

Mays calls home nearly every night. He knows his father wants constant updates, and his father says Taylor wants to check on his pet bird, a cockatoo named "Tweedy."

After all, his father said, "He's still an 18-year-old boy."

Notes

• WSU coach Bill Doba said starting center Josh Duin (knee) will miss the game. He said defensive tackle Fevaea'i Ahmu, who is recovering from a partial fracture of a bone in his foot, is "limited" in workouts but indicated he will play. The No. 3 defensive tackle, Aaron Johnson, has had back problems this week but will play.

• With Duin out and starting left tackle Bobby Byrd (knee) about to miss his second consecutive game, Doba said the top tier of backup linemen are freshman Micah Hannam, who is on "red alert" to have his redshirt status terminated, Jacob McKinney, Derek Hunter and Justin Luafalemana.

• Indications from Los Angeles are that USC star receiver Dwayne Jarrett (shoulder) probably won't play.

• Doba indicated that the Cougars probably won't have kicker Loren Langley attempt any long field goals unless absolutely necessary.

"I don't want to hurt his confidence," Doba said. However, he also said any decision could be influenced by Langley's accuracy in warmups.

Craig Smith: 206-464-8279 or csmith@seattletimes.com