NEW YORK– Former West Virginia University standout linebacker Darryl Talley (1979-82) has been announced today as one of the 16 newest members (14 players, two head coaches) of the 2011 Football Bowl Subdivision College Football Hall of Fame, as announced by Archie Manning, chairman of the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame.
From the national ballot of 79 candidates and a pool of hundreds of eligible nominees, Archie Manning, chairman of The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame, announced the 2011 College Football Hall of Fame Football Bowl Subdivision Class, which includes the names of 14 First Team All-America players and two legendary coaches.
The 2011 College Football Hall of Fame class includes Carlos Alvarez, WR, Florida; Doug English, DL, Texas; Bill Enyart, Oregon State; Eddie George, RB, Ohio State; Marty Lyons, DL, Alabama; Russell Maryland, DL, Miami, Fla.; Deion Sanders, DB, Florida State; Jake Scott, DB, Georgia; Will Shields, OL, Nebraska; Sandy Stephens, QB, Minnesota; Clendon Thomas, RB, Oklahoma; Rob Waldrop, DL, Arizona; Gene Washington, WR, Michigan State. The coaches are Lloyd Carr, Michigan and Fisher DeBerry, Air Force.
“It goes without saying that this year’s College Football Hall of Fame Class is an exceptional group of men who have forged some of the most legendary careers in the history of our sport,” said Manning, a 1989 College Football Hall of Famer from Ole Miss. “Gene Corrigan and the Honors Court did an extraordinary job in selecting individuals who are not only known for their gridiron success but also for being great members of society in their post-football lives. On behalf of myself and the NFF Board of Directors, NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell, and the 12,000 members of the National Football Foundation, we are proud to welcome these tremendous players and coaches to the NFF family, and we look forward to celebrating their accomplishments throughout the year.”
The 2011 College Football Hall of Fame Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) Class will be inducted at the NFF Annual Awards Dinner on December 6, 2011, at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. They will be officially enshrined at the College Football Hall of Fame, tentatively scheduled for the summer of 2012.
CRITERIA
1. First and foremost, a player must have received First Team All-America recognition by a selector organization that is recognized by the NCAA and utilized to comprise their consensus All-America teams.
2. A player becomes eligible for consideration by the Foundation’s Honors Courts ten years after his final year of intercollegiate football played.
3. While each nominee’s football achievements in college are of prime consideration, his post football record as a citizen is also weighed. He must have proven himself worthy as a citizen, carrying the ideals of football forward into his relations with his community and fellow man. Consideration may also be given for academic honors and whether or not the candidate earned a college degree.
4. Players must have played their last year of intercollegiate football within the last 50 years*. For example, to be eligible for the 2010 ballot, the player must have played his last year in 1960 or thereafter. In addition, players who are playing professionally and coaches who are coaching on the professional level are not eligible until after they retire.
5. A coach becomes eligible three years after retirement or immediately following retirement provided he is at least 70 years of age. Active coaches become eligible at 75 years of age. He must have been a head coach for a minimum of 10 years and coached at least 100 games with a ..600 winning percentage*.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME
· Including the 2011 FBS class, only 896 players and 192 coaches have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame from the nearly five million who have played or coached the game over the past 142 years. In other words, less than one percent (.0002) have been deemed worthy of this distinction.
· Founded in 1947, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame inducted its first class of inductees in 1951. The first class included 32 players and 19 coaches, including Illinois’ Red Grange, Notre Dame’s Knute Rockne, Amos Alonzo Stagg and Carlisle’s Jim Thorpe.
· 284 schools are represented with at least one College Football Hall of Famer.
· Induction for this class of Hall of Famers will take place December 6, 2011 at the NFF Annual Awards Dinner in New York City’s historic Waldorf-Astoria.
DARRYL TALLEY
West Virginia University Linebacker, 1978-82 Named a unanimous All-American as a senior in 1982, Darryl Talley was a four-year starter and team captain for College Football Hall of Fame coach Don Nehlen at West Virginia. He becomes the sixth Mountaineer to enter the College Football Hall of Fame.
Talley left Morgantown as West Virginia’s all-time leading tackler with 484 total stops, a record he held for more than 20 years. Named the squad’s Most Valuable Player in 1982, Talley led the Mountaineers to the Peach Bowl in 1981 and the Gator Bowl a year later. He was a four-time All-East Region selection and was a two-time winner of the team’s John Russell Award, given to the WVU lineman who best demonstrates spirit and leadership.
Talley was a second-round selection in the 1983 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills. He played 12 seasons for the Bills, Atlanta Falcons and Minnesota Vikings, starting 187-of-216 career outings. The two-time Pro Bowler played in four Super Bowls with Buffalo and was named First Team All-Pro by the Sporting News in 1990 and 1993. Talley logged 38.5 career sacks and forced 17 fumbles.
Talley currently works as the owner of Sentry Barricades and resides in Orlando, Fla. He also established a charitable foundation in Rochester, N.Y., and has worked with Anchor House Ministries in Orlando. Inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame in 1996, Talley is a member of the WVU All-Time Team. He and his wife, Jeanne, have two children.
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