From a young age, Mays always had a deep desire to play football; his father recalls Mays, at age 14, doing homework with his football helmet on. Mays also spent a lot of time as a kid watching old football tapes from when his father played. While his parents initially didn't allow him to play football, he played soccer and was noted as being very physical and much bigger than the other kids which led to his parents eventually letting him try out for the football team in the 7th grade.