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The Official Web Site of the WVU Varsity Club |
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Profile: Darryl Talley
The Mountaineers under head football coach Frank Cignetti was mired in back-to-back losing seasons in 1976 and 1977 and the Mountaineers were beginning to lag farther behind Eastern football powers Pitt, Penn State and Maryland. Talley wasn't instantly known to West Virginia football fans like running back recruit Robert Alexander was, but Stevens thought Talley had the potential to become an outstanding college player despite missing seven games during his senior season due to a broken ankle. Although Pitt, Penn State and Talley's home state school Ohio State weren't interested in him, he did have scholarship offers from Iowa, Syracuse, Colorado and Bowling Green. Talley said his college decision boiled down to being comfortable in Morgantown, W.Va. "I picked WVU because I liked the people in this state, I liked the man recruiting me, and I knew some of the players from my area who were already here," he said. "When I got to West Virginia I weighed 185 pounds," Talley recalled. "The first thing I did was look around and think, 'Hmmm. There sure are a lot of big guys here.' All I hoped for was a chance to play." Talley redshirted the 1978 season and used the time to grow an inch in height and add 15 pounds to his now 6-foot-4 frame. He became friends with Columbus, Ohio, linebacker Dennis Fowlkes and the two began lifting weights together. Talley, the son of a foundry worker, made his West Virginia University debut in 1979 as a redshirt freshman. He began the season as Delbert Fowler's backup at defensive end but was soon moved to the other side. His big break came in a 20-18 victory over Richmond when he intercepted two passes, including one for a touchdown, to help WVU to one of its five wins that season. Talley finished fourth on the team in tackles with 83. He also had four tackles for losses and two quarterback sacks. After his freshman year, Cignetti was out as WVU coach and he was replaced by Michigan assistant coach Don Nehlen. Nehlen brought with him a no nonsense approach and a devotion to weight lifting. Talley benefited greatly from the change. Nehlen knew he had something special after watching the team's first few practices. "The first time I saw him," recalled Nehlen, "I said to myself, 'Holy jumpin catfish! Where did we get this guy?'" Nehlen's new defensive coordinator Gary Tranquill also took a special interest in Talley. "Coach Tranquill was always on me pretty good," said Talley. "He'd get on me every time I made a mistake. But I knew he he was doing it for only one purpose: to make me better." Talley was improving and so was the team. In 1980, West Virginia reached the .500 mark for the first time since 1975 and the linebacker ranked second on the squad with 127 tackles, nine tackles for losses and four sacks. His numbers would have been even better but a nagging neck injury limited his play for the final month of the season. Talley was named to the all-East team his sophomore season and he was beginning to develop a reputation as a tough guy on the football field. His junior season saw West Virginia win nine games and finished ranked in the Top 20 for the first time in six years. West Virginia upset Florida in the Peach Bowl and Talley was the key player on a defense that allowed just 247 yards per game. He led the team with 139 tackles, 10 tackles for losses and six quarterback sacks. "Mr. Outside" again earned all-East honors and was named a third team All-American by the Associated Press. As good as 1981 was for Talley, 1982 was his year. His memorable season began with terrific performances in back-to-back wins against Oklahoma and Maryland -- it was Talley's pressure on Maryland quarterback Boomer Esiason that forced him to overthrow tight end Ron Fazio on a two-point conversion pass in a game West Virginia won 19-18. Talley's breakout game came in a 16-13 loss at No. 2-ranked Pitt televised regionally on ABC. He blocked a punt, intercepted a pass and made Pitt quarterback Dan Marino miserable all afternoon. Talley's performance was particularly meaningful to him because he spent his first two seasons at WVU studying Pitt All-American defenders Hugh Green and Rickey Jackson. A month later, Talley earned national notoriety when he was one of five athletes featured in a pictorial essay in the October issue of Inside Sports entitled "Bad Dudes." Said Pitt coach Foge Fazio in the Inside Sports feature: "He enjoys knocking people around, whether they're coming at him or running away from him." West Virginia once again won nine games, played Florida State in the Gator Bowl in finished in the Top 20 in back-to-back seasons for only the second time in school history. Talley, who made 90 tackles to finish his career with a school-record 484, was named to nine All-America teams to become the school's first consensus All-American since Bruce Bosley in 1955. He was drafted in the second round of the 1983 NFL draft (39th overall) by the Buffalo Bills and was also taken in the second round (24th overall) by the New Jersey Generals of the USFL. Although disappointed he wasn't picked in the first round, Talley was glad to get a chance to play professional football. The reason for his drop was a discrepancy in his playing weight and 40-yard dash time. "They had me weighing only 210, but I've been as high as 235 since last season," said Talley at the time. "Also, my speed is 4.5 for the 40 yards, not 4.6 or 4.7." Said Buffalo Bills coach Chuck Knox after the draft, "Everyone on our staff who looks at Darryl Talley on film or has had a chance to see him play in person was in agreement that he has the tangibles and intangibles it takes to be an outstanding player in the NFL." Talley joined a rebuilding Buffalo franchise that was undergoing a face lift. Knox resigned after the 1983 season and was replaced by Kay Stephenson. Two straight two-win seasons led to Stephenson's ouster. Veteran coach Marv Levy took over in 1986. Talley went through four defensive coordinators before Levy. Each coach had his own idea of what Talley could do but none of them ever thought to ask for his input. "My first few years I was put in a style of play that wasn't advantageous to me," Talley once said. "I never got a chance to get settled and it drove me crazy. One guy wants you to learn these two or three things and the next guy wants you to forget all about that. It tried my patience." Levy gave Talley a defined role at right outside linebacker and he finished the 1986 season with 116 tackles. The Buffalo defense had two pretty good players in linebacker Shane Conlan and Bruce Smith, and added another one in Alabama linebacker Cornelius Bennett in a blockbuster trade that included all-pro running back Eric Dickerson in 1987. By 1988 the Bills improved to 12-4 and advanced to the AFC championship game where it lost to Cincinnati, 21-10. "To me, Darryl is a real success story because of the rough start he had here," said Bills General Manager Bill Pollian. "Nobody thought enough of him to give him a real chance." Talley had 97 tackles and six sacks in 1988 to rank among the team leaders, but he was overlooked for the Pro Bowl. Instead, teammate Conlan was named to the team despite making 47 less tackles than Talley. "That's life in Buffalo," he said. "We've got three other good linebackers on this team. When you play on a team with this much talent somebody is bound to be overlooked." Talley was once again overlooked for the Pro Bowl in 1989 after a 123-tackle, four-sack, two-interception season. He finally received his due when Los Angeles Raiders coach Art Shell named him to the 1990 Pro Bowl as his "need" player. Shell appreciated Talley's big-game talents after the linebacker helped Buffalo to two wins over the Raiders, including a 51-3 playoff win in which Talley returned an interception 27 yards for a touchdown. Talley made the Pro Bowl once again in 1991 and played three more seasons with the Bills, helping Buffalo to four straight Super Bowls. During Buffalo's four Super Bowl years from 1990-93 they posted a record of 49-15. He was a free agent after the 1994 season and the Bills chose not to re-sign him. He spent two more seasons in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons in 1995 and the Minnesota Vikings in 1996 before retiring after 14 seasons. It was during his last year in 1996 that his 221-game consecutive streak ended. Talley finished his Buffalo career with 38.5 sacks and 12 interceptions, returning two for touchdowns. Although hoping to end his career in Buffalo, Talley wasn't bitter with the team's decision not to re-sign him. He took out a classy ad in the sports section of the Buffalo newspaper. Talley wrote, "In leaving Buffalo, I want to express my sincerest thanks to everyone who has made my 12 years here the most memorable time of my life. I will go away with only fond memories. "I realize that not all players have the privilege to play for such a successful franchise in such a great city. Those four Super Bowls will live on in my memories forever. I've done things, gone places and met people that most only dream of because I played for the Buffalo Bills. "It's time to move on, perhaps the hardest part about leaving is leaving behind friendships that my family and I have made here. With that, I'd like to say thank you to our friends; you'll be missed but we will keep in touch. And our neighbors on Curley Drive; where will we ever meet neighbors like you again? "To the people of Buffalo, thanks for making me feel like one of your own. I hope that Atlanta is as welcoming. Finally, to the Buffalo Bills organization and my teammates, what can I say? You were simply the best. On behalf of my family, thanks for the memories. It was my honor. "Darryl Talley." Talley was inducted into the West Virginia University Sports Hall of Fame in 1996. He currently lives in Orlando, Fla. |
West
Virginia recruiter Gary Stevens had a hunch about Darryl Talley. The
gangly 6-foot-3, 185-pound sometimes linebacker sometimes middle
guard at Shaw High School in East Cleveland, Ohio, wasn't the most
imposing high school prospect he'd ever seen. But then again, West
Virginia University wasn't in a position to be selective. |
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