A 1982 consensus All-American, Darryl Talley was one of the most prolific tacklers in Mountaineer and Buffalo Bills history. During his four years in Morgantown, Talley amassed 484 career tackles – the most by any WVU player when his playing career ended. The four-year starting linebacker led West Virginia to the 1981 Peach Bowl and the 1982 Gator Bowl.

His Herculean five tackles for loss in 1980 versus Penn State still stand as a WVU single-game record. For his career, Talley had 282 unassisted tackles , 202 assisted tackles, 28 tackles for loss and 19 quarterback sacks from 1979-82.

Talley came to WVU 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 gelled to post nine wins, including a 26-6 rout of Florida in the 1981 Peach Bowl. The Mountaineers notched wins against Virginia, Maryland, Colorado State, Boston College, Virginia Tech, East Carolina, Temple and Rutgers during that season.

He was named Sports Illustrated player of the week for his 15 tackles versus Boston College, but it might have been the Pitt game that showcased his brilliant all-around abilities. 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.

Talley's good fortune continued the next year as WVU opened the 1982 campaign with a stunning 41-27 upset at Oklahoma. The Mountaineers suffered just two losses during the regular season and went on to meet Florida State in the Gator Bowl. After being named WVU's MVP and becoming the school's third consensus All-American, Talley played in the 1983 Hula Bowl and was selected in the second round of the NFL draft (39th overall) by the Buffalo Bills.

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• Position: Linebacker
• Hometown: Cleveland, Ohio
• Inducted into WVU Hall of Fame: 1996