O’Dea grad Taylor Mays wants his Huskies players to play fast

When Taylor Mays began his coaching journey, he consistently heard one mantra about developing his on-field personality. Be the coach you wish you had. 

For Mays, UW’s new safeties coach, the phrase didn’t resonate. 

Of course, the former O’Dea standout has experienced a significantly different path than many other young coaches in his position. Mays, a USC consensus All-American who spent six seasons in the NFL, has worked with many of football’s most esteemed coaches. His view on building a coaching persona is more simple. 

“I see it as you’re trying to find ways to teach the kids how to play fast,” Mays said. “And I don’t ever want them to go into a situation where they feel uncomfortable with what they’re being asked to do because they weren’t prepared to do it.”

Mays and the Huskies completed their seventh spring practice on the practice field behind Husky Stadium during a sunny Tuesday afternoon. Mays, who was hired to join coach Jedd Fisch’s staff on Jan. 16, is still getting acquainted with a safety group that was assembled before he arrived on Montlake. 

“I feel awesome,” Mays said. “It’s fortunate to come into a situation with such a wide spectrum of experience.” 

Washington lost both of its starting safeties following the 2024 campaign. Sixth-year safety Kamren Fabiculanan, whose 55 tackles ranked third on the team, exhausted his eligibility along with senior Cameron Broussard, who made 32 tackles and started seven games during his lone season at UW after transferring from FCS-program Sacramento State. 

Rising sophomore Peyton Waters transferred to North Carolina to reunite with former UW defensive coordinator Steve Belichick. Waters, a 247Sports composite four-star recruit, played in all 13 games as a true freshman in 2024, primarily on special teams. 

However, the Huskies still have some experienced safeties from the past season. Sixth-year senior Makell Esteen started four games and made 44 tackles despite battling injuries which limited him to 10 appearances. The Southern California native has played in 33 career games at UW. Washington also returned sophomore Vincent Holmes, another composite four-star recruit, and redshirt freshman Paul Mencke Jr. 

Fifth-year senior Dyson McCutcheon, along with redshirt freshmen Rahshawn Clark and Rahim Wright II are listed as safeties on UW’s roster but have primarily been deployed at nickel during spring practices.

Finally, 2025 signee Rylon Dillard-Allen, another composite four-star prospect, enrolled in time for winter quarter workouts and is currently participating in spring practices. Fellow signee Donovan Robinson Jr., now listed at safety instead of linebacker, will join the team during the summer. 

“You’ve got guys who’ve played in a lot of games,” Mays said. “Guys who’ve played in big games. Then you have young guys who have a ton of talent. So you’re not really missing anything in terms of athleticism or experience.”

Washington also added a pair of intriguing transfers to Mays’ position group: CJ Christian, a 6-foot-1, 205-pound safety who spent the past three seasons at Florida International and Alex McLaughlin, who’s listed 6-2, 198 pounds and played two seasons at Northern Arizona where he earned FCS All-American consideration. 

Mays’ position group can effectively be categorized into two different roles in new defensive coordinator Ryan Walters’ scheme. 

“We’ve got the down safety that’s more working in the box, guarding tight ends,” Christian said. “Or, we’ve also got a post safety that can’t let nothing get behind them.” 

Dillard-Allen, Christian and Holmes have primarily taken repetitions as post safeties through the first seven practices. Esteen, McLaughlin and Mencke have generally operated as down safeties. Mays, however, said his goal is to ensure his players have the skills to play either position. 

The new safeties coach has no shortage of past coaches to look to for inspiration. His father, former UW defensive lineman Stafford Mays, previously told The Seattle Times that Taylor looked up to some of his former coaches like Mike Zimmer, Marvin Lewis, and longtime Seahawks coach Pete Carroll. 

Taylor, however, noted current Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph and former Seahawks defensive assistant Rocky Seto, who coached defensive backs at USC when Taylor was a Trojan, as two of the coaches he wanted to emulate at UW. Taylor said Joseph taught him all the intricacies of playing safety, while Seto helped him separate his on-field and off-field mindsets. 

“They’re two entirely different people, two entirely different coaching styles,” Taylor Mays said. “But they both kind of helped mold me into the style that I have now.”

So far, his coaching style is certainly working for Christian. The FIU transfer said he’s enjoyed the emphasis on positional versatility, and also added that Mays’ past has made the lessons even more impactful. 

And while Christian wasn’t old enough to remember Mays as the hard-hitting Trojans All-American, he’s done enough research to know Mays’ teachings are worth taking to heart.

“I looked his highlights up,” Christian said. “Yeah. He was like that.”

Extra points:

• Fifth-year senior quarterback Kai Horton threw the only touchdown during UW’s “Sandstorm” no-huddle period, completing a 5-yard slant to freshman wide receiver Marcus Harris. Horton also had a nice throw up the right seam to junior wideout Kevin Green Jr. during an 11-on-11 period near the end of practice for around 30 yards. 

• Demond Williams Jr.’s lone “Sandstorm” drive ended when a well-thrown fade from the 15-yard line bounced off the hands of true freshman receiver Chris Lawson. However, Lawson redeemed himself later in the practice, catching a pair of corner routes along the left sideline during an 11-on-11 period. Both were well thrown by Williams. 

• Williams threw two touchdowns during a 7-on-7 red-zone drill. His first was to sophomore wide receiver Rashid Williams on a slant, and his second found sophomore wide receiver Audric Harris on a short hook. Both scores were 4-yard completions. 

• Senior kicker Grady Gross made his only 11-on-11 field goal attempt of the practice, converting from 31 yards.