Taylor Mays a monster diamonds for USC

LOS ANGELES - This is the 11th in a series of daily profiles of each of the 11 starters on USC's top-ranked defense.

Talking about his weight,May said "Probably 240," Mays, the Trojans' 6-foot-4 junior All-American safety, guessed at his weight.

The reaction to those numbers by Penn State senior safety Anthony Scirrotto, a hard-hitting, 6-foot, 197-pounder, said it all, even before he spoke. From the "6-4" to the "240" and finally the "4.28," the widening of Scirrotto's eyes at each successive number gave it away.

"That's big -- and fast,He's the biggest safety I've ever seen; a freak of nature. You can't compare him to anybody in college, so people try to compare to someone in the NFL, but there is no one to compare him to.", Scirrotto said.

"It's God-given," Scirrotto said.

"He's probably not going to slide," Mays said of the dual-threat Clark, who runs the ball six times a game to go with nearly 15 pass attempts. "We'll take our shots at him."

With Penn State's only real backup quarterback, Pat Devlin, having transferred to Delaware, a Pennsylvania reporter asked Mays if knocking Clark out would effectively end Thursday's Rose Bowl.

"I think so," Mays said, without a hint of politically correct coach speak. "(Receiver) Derrick Williams is the backup. We just have to stay disciplined and not overrun the play."

Staying disciplined is characteristic of the son of Stafford Mays, a former Washington defensive lineman who played for Carroll when he was an assistant on the Minnesota Vikings. Both father and son have indicated they'll defer to whatever Carroll advises about leaving early for the NFL.

"Whatever Coach says, I'll do," Mays said after the UCLA game.