The Hawaii football team celebrated the new year with the addition of a versatile defensive back.
Isaiah Mays, who played the past two seasons at City College of San Francisco, has accepted a scholarship offer from the Rainbow Warriors and will attend classes beginning Jan. 13, the first day of UH’s spring semester. Mays will participate in the Warriors’ offseason conditioning program and spring training. He has three years to play two UH seasons.
In an interview with the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Mays said he received several offers, as well as interest from Oregon State. But Mays said he felt comfortable with UH’s coaching staff, and “I just jumped on Hawaii.”
UH head coach Nick Rolovich played and coached at CCSF. Receivers coach Andre Allen was on the CCSF staff for 27 years, the final 13 as offensive coordinator. Defensive coordinator Corey Batoon and cornerbacks coach Abraham Elimimian served as the point recruiters.
“I knew about the program,” said Mays, referencing the offer he received from UH when he was a Berkeley (Calif.) High senior in 2018. At the time, Mays was a receiver and the Warriors were undergoing coaching changes. As an academic qualifier, he still opted to go the junior college route.
Mays was a receiver as a CCSF freshman in 2018. After that, he moved to defense.
“It’s fun,” Mays said of defense. “I like the fact that you always have a fire under your butt at all times. Any time, you could be the hero or the villain. I like that about it. It keeps me on edge.”
The Rams play a multiple-look defense that often employs five defensive backs. Mays was the starting cornerback, then moved to nickelback when CCSF went into its five-DB package.
Mays is capable of playing corner, nickel or safety for the Warriors. At 6 feet 1 and 190 pounds, Mays has the length and speed to play in coverage, and the strength and toughness to move up and defend the run. He said he was hand-timed at 4.5 seconds over 40 yards. At a Nike combine in high school, he was recorded with a 38-inch vertical jump.
Mays, who plans to major in finance, has several interests. He is an accomplished basketball player and skateboarder. He is a voracious reader of non-fiction books. He also has studied real estate.
Mays is the second mid-year transfer to join the Warriors’ secondary. Sterlin Ortiz, a safety who played at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, also is enrolled in UH’s spring semester.
