WVU legend Darryl Talley making push toward NFL Hall of Fame

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Sometimes the first hurdle is the toughest to clear. That has been the case for WVU and Buffalo Bills great Darryl Talley.

A consensus All-American in 1982 and West Virginia’s all-time tackles leader when he left Morgantown, Talley took his football-hunting skills to the NFL and became a prolific defensive player at that level.

Since retiring from the NLF after the 1996 season, Talley has long waited for a call from the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, just a short drive from where he grew up in east Cleveland.

“I feel that I’ve earned the right to be there,” Talley told Gold and Blue Nation in an exclusive interview Saturday. “… To be honest with you, I think that I’ve got numbers to be there.”

Talley amassed over 1,200 tackles, 38.5 sacks, and 12 interceptions from his linebacker position in 14 seasons in the NFL. Twelve of those seasons were spent in Buffalo, where he helped the Bills reach four consecutive Super Bowl appearances and earned a pair of Pro Bowl nods in 1990 and 91.

Despite that, Talley never was voted a semifinalist by the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Modern-Era Selection Committee. In 2021, the same year his uniform was retired by West Virginia , Talley became eligible for consideration by the Hall’s Senior Committee, the same group that finally elected Howley in 2023 .

Talley and teammates attempted to campaign for his Hall of Fame consideration in 2022. Similar efforts were planned for this weekend in Morgantown, in conjunction with Brian Jozwiak’s fundraising events for WVU Medicine Children’s . Before his journey from Buffalo to the Mountain State, Talley learned he had finally cleared the first big hurdle.

The Seniors Committee is taking him under consideration.

Talley’s 1,252 total tackles would be the seventh-most by any Pro Football Hall of Famer. His 38.5 sacks are more than the likes of Sam Huff, Chuck Howley, Ronde Barber, Jack Ham and Mike Singletary. (Note: Sacks did not become an official NFL stat until 1982, meaning stats for players who played before that year are not completely accurate but are based on NFL research.) Talley’s 12 interceptions are more than Canton-enhrined linebackers like Singletary, Lawrence Taylor and DeMarcus Ware.

With 2024 finalists already named, the earliest Talley can be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame is in 2025. The 12-person Seniors Committee will now begin taking a good look at Talley’s career. The hope is that Talley can become one of the 25 semifinalists by this time next year, and then become a finalist shortly after that. Three of the 12 finalists move forward to the final step of Hall of Fame consideration.

“I just need some people in my corner to say I played like a worthy person playing,” said Talley. “That didn’t sound right, but that’s what it is — being a worthy person of playing, or being worthy of the honor.”

Talley was inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame in 1996. His 2003 placement on the Buffalo Bills Wall of Fame was followed eight years later by an induction into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2011. Earlier this year, Talley was named the Bronko Nagurski Legends Award winner by the Football Writers Association of America.

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