West Virginia football legend, Darryl Talley has been named the winner of the 2024 Bronko Nagurski Legends Award.
The Bronko Nagurski Trophy is awarded to the top defensive college football player each year, with the Legends Award being given to a player from a past Football Writers of America Association All-America team. Since its inception in 2007 the Legends Award has been awarded to the likes of NFL greats such as Jack Youngblood and Ted Hendricks.
Talley played at WVU from 1979-82 and was a key piece to a defense that helped the team rank in the top 20 his junior and senior seasons. He was a consensus All-American in 1982. In his collegiate career, Talley totaled close to 500 total tackles, including 28 tackles-for-loss and 19 sacks.
Talley was selected in the second round of the 1983 NFL draft by the Buffalo Bills, where he spent 12 seasons never missing a game. The 6-foot-4 native of Cleveland accumulated 1,128 total tackles in his career with the Bills, becoming their all-time leading tackler. In his entire playing career, he had 1,252 tackles, 17 forced fumbles and 12 interceptions, having also played for Atlanta and Minnesota. He was a two-time All-Pro and Pro-Bowler.
Talley was elected into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2011 and was an inaugural member of the WVU Legends Society, created in 2016. Since, Talley’s No. 90 jersey has been retired with the Mountaineers in a game against Texas Tech in 2021.
Talley will be honored at the Bronko Nagurski Awards Banquet on Dec. 9 at the Charlotte Convention Center.
Photo Courtesy of WVU Athletics
