WVU Sports Hall of Fame
A 1982 consensus All-American, Darryl Talley became one of the most prolific tacklers in Mountaineer and Buffalo Bills history. During his four years in Morgantown, Talley amassed 484 career tackles , which was the most by any WVU player when his playing career ended in 1982 and has since been surpassed by All-American linebacker Grant Wiley. The four-year starter led West Virginia to the 1981 Peach Bowl and the 1982 Gator Bowl.
Talley produced five tackles for loss in a 1980 game against Penn State, which was a WVU single-game record that stood for 20 years. For his career, the East Cleveland, Ohio, native had 282 unassisted tackles , 202 assisted tackles, 28 tackles for loss and 19 quarterback sacks.
Talley came to WVU from Shaw High in 1978 and spent two seasons playing for Frank Cignetti before Don Nehlen took over the Mountaineer program in 1980. After two building seasons that saw WVU go 5-6 and 6-6, Talley and his teammates jelled to post nine victories, including a 26-6 rout of Florida in the 1981 Peach Bowl. The Mountaineers also notched wins that season against Virginia, Maryland, Colorado State, Boston College, Virginia Tech, East Carolina, Temple and Rutgers during that season.
Talley's good fortune continued the next year as WVU opened the 1982 campaign with a stunning, 41-27 upset at Oklahoma. He was named Sports Illustrated player of the week for his 15 tackles versus Boston College, but it was probably the Pitt game the week prior that solidified his status as college football's top outside linebacker. In that game he intercepted a Dan Marino pass to set up a Mountaineer field goal, blocked a punt and recovered it for a touchdown, and spent almost the entire afternoon in the Panther backfield. He lined up at almost every defensive position on the field except for nose tackle and safety in WVU's narrow 16-13 loss to the No. 2-rated Panthers. It was just one of two defeats WVU suffered during the regular season in a season that saw the Mountaineers face Florida State in the Gator Bowl.
After being named team MVP and becoming only the school's third consensus All-American, Talley was invited to play in the 1983 Hula Bowl and was selected in the second round of the NFL draft (39th overall) by the Buffalo Bills.
He blossomed into a star for the Bills and played 12 seasons as the team's starting outside linebacker from 1983-94, never missing a game. At the conclusion of his career, Talley was the Bills' all-time leading tackler with 1,137. He also recorded 38 ½ sacks and 11 interceptions as a Bill.
Talley once came off the bench during a 1983 game to sack Miami quarterback Dan Marino five times as the Bills rallied for a 38-35 overtime victory. He played in four Super Bowls and two Pro Bowls, and was twice voted All-Pro in 1990 and 1990 in becoming a Buffalo fan favorite. "I like the fact that he's about winning," said former San Francisco 49er rival Ronnie Lott. "He's not about showboating, or who's getting the glory, or who's making the plays. To me, that's a person giving of himself.”
Talley had a cheering section at Rich Stadium known as the “Talley Whackers,” and following the 1990 season he received the Ed Block Courage Award. He had several nicknames while playing for the Bills, including "Spider-Man" and "The Hammer."
Talley spent the 1995 campaign with the Atlanta Falcons and played with the Minnesota Vikings in 1996 before retiring. He was named to WVU’s All-Time Football Team (1980-89). In 2000, he won the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Distinguished Service Award.
The 6-4, 235-pound linebacker earned his bachelor's degree in physical education from WVU. In 2003, Talley became the 20th member of the Wall of Fame in Ralph Wilson Stadium, and in 2009, he was one of 26 players picked by fans on Buffalo's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team.
In 2011, Talley was elected into the College Football Hall of Fame - the 12th Mountaineer to be honored, and he was named an inaugural member of WVU’s Mountaineer Legends Society in 2016.
Talley's West Virginia jersey number 90 was officially retired during the Texas Tech game played on Oct. 2, 2021.
