Luke Staley
Encyclopedia
Lucas Staley is a former American football
player who starred as a running back
at Brigham Young University
from 1999 to 2001.
) High, Staley was named Gatorade Player of the Year and USA Today Player of the Year for the state of Oregon. He was also named Oregonian Player of the Year, earned All-State honors on offense and defense, and was conference Player of the Year for offense, defense, and special teams. He averaged over 300 yards per game during Tualatin's 4-game playoff run. Staley was listed as a Blue Chip Top 100 player.
(MWC) football game. Despite some nagging injuries that limited his playing time, he continued his impressive play, finishing the season with 92 rushes for 432 yards and 10 touchdowns, and added 26 receptions for 339 yards and 3 touchdowns. He led the MWC in scoring, averaging 9.8 points per game. For his efforts, Staley was named Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year, and Sporting News Third Team Freshman All-American.
As a sophomore in 2000, Staley started 10 games and led the team with 479 yards (on 130 carries) and scored 7 touchdowns. He added 28 receptions for 327 yards. In BYU's 10-7 victory over UNLV
, Staley rushed for 167 yards and was named MWC Offensive Player of the Week. He also received awards from BYU's coaching staff for games against Air Force
, UNLV, and Colorado State.
In 2001, Staley burst onto the national scene with a spectacular junior season. Under new head coach Gary Crowton
, the Cougars started the season with a 12-0 record and led the NCAA
in scoring (46.8 points per game) and total offense (542.9 yards per game). Staley became the main weapon in BYU's offensive blitzkrieg. Despite suffering a season-ending ankle injury against Mississippi State, he compiled some eye-popping statistics. In 11 games, he rushed for 1,596 yards and 24 touchdowns (both totals shattered school records). His rushing average (8.1 yards per carry) led the NCAA, and his 143.8 rushing yards per game ranked third nationally. Staley added 32 receptions for 334 yards and 4 touchdowns; he led the nation in total touchdowns (28) and scoring (15.5 points per game).
In recognition of his accomplishments, Staley received the Doak Walker Award
, given annually to the nation's top running back. He was also named Touchdown Club of Columbus Running Back of the Year—The Jim Brown Award, and earned First-team All-American
honors from the American Football Coaches Association
, the Associated Press
, CNN/SI, Football News, Football Writers Association, the NFL Draft Report, and the Walter Camp Foundation (among others). In addition, Staley received numerous awards from the Mountain West Conference throughout the season, including MWC Offensive Player of the Year and First-team All-MWC honors. Although he had one very good season, he still would rank just outside of the top 100 college running backs of the past two decades.
. However, because of his injury-prone past, Staley was not selected until the seventh round (214th overall) by the Detroit Lions
, He participated in Lions' training camp as a rookie, but suffered a knee injury that required a season-ending surgery.
He attended training camp the following season but was waived on August 25, 2003.(SGC)
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player who starred as a running back
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
at Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...
from 1999 to 2001.
High school career
In 1999, as a senior at Tualatin (OregonOregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
) High, Staley was named Gatorade Player of the Year and USA Today Player of the Year for the state of Oregon. He was also named Oregonian Player of the Year, earned All-State honors on offense and defense, and was conference Player of the Year for offense, defense, and special teams. He averaged over 300 yards per game during Tualatin's 4-game playoff run. Staley was listed as a Blue Chip Top 100 player.
College career
In three years at BYU, Staley established himself as one of the best running backs in school history, and posted the best single season of any BYU back in history. In his first game as a Cougar, Staley scored 3 touchdowns to lead BYU to a 34-13 victory over Colorado State in the first-ever Mountain West ConferenceMountain West Conference
The Mountain West Conference , popularly known as the Mountain West, is the youngest of the college athletic conferences affiliated with the NCAA’s Division I FBS . The MWC officially began operations in July 1999...
(MWC) football game. Despite some nagging injuries that limited his playing time, he continued his impressive play, finishing the season with 92 rushes for 432 yards and 10 touchdowns, and added 26 receptions for 339 yards and 3 touchdowns. He led the MWC in scoring, averaging 9.8 points per game. For his efforts, Staley was named Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year, and Sporting News Third Team Freshman All-American.
As a sophomore in 2000, Staley started 10 games and led the team with 479 yards (on 130 carries) and scored 7 touchdowns. He added 28 receptions for 327 yards. In BYU's 10-7 victory over UNLV
UNLV Rebels football
The UNLV Rebels football program is a college football team that represents the University of Nevada, Las Vegas . The team is currently a member of the Mountain West Conference, which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletics Association...
, Staley rushed for 167 yards and was named MWC Offensive Player of the Week. He also received awards from BYU's coaching staff for games against Air Force
United States Air Force Academy
The United States Air Force Academy is an accredited college for the undergraduate education of officer candidates for the United States Air Force. Its campus is located immediately north of Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado, United States...
, UNLV, and Colorado State.
In 2001, Staley burst onto the national scene with a spectacular junior season. Under new head coach Gary Crowton
Gary Crowton
-External links:* *...
, the Cougars started the season with a 12-0 record and led the NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
in scoring (46.8 points per game) and total offense (542.9 yards per game). Staley became the main weapon in BYU's offensive blitzkrieg. Despite suffering a season-ending ankle injury against Mississippi State, he compiled some eye-popping statistics. In 11 games, he rushed for 1,596 yards and 24 touchdowns (both totals shattered school records). His rushing average (8.1 yards per carry) led the NCAA, and his 143.8 rushing yards per game ranked third nationally. Staley added 32 receptions for 334 yards and 4 touchdowns; he led the nation in total touchdowns (28) and scoring (15.5 points per game).
In recognition of his accomplishments, Staley received the Doak Walker Award
Doak Walker Award
The Doak Walker Award, first awarded in 1990, honors the United States's top college football running back. It is named after the Southern Methodist and Detroit Lions football player Doak Walker...
, given annually to the nation's top running back. He was also named Touchdown Club of Columbus Running Back of the Year—The Jim Brown Award, and earned First-team All-American
2001 College Football All-America Team
The 2001 College Football All-America Team is composed of the following All-American Teams: Associated Press, Football Writers Association of America, American Football Coaches Association, Walter Camp Foundation, The Sporting News, Pro Football Weekly, Football News and Sports IllustratedThe...
honors from the American Football Coaches Association
American Football Coaches Association
The American Football Coaches Association is an association of over 11,000 football coaches and staff on all levels. According to its constitution, some of the main goals of the American Football Coaches Association are to "maintain the highest possible standards in football and the profession of...
, the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
, CNN/SI, Football News, Football Writers Association, the NFL Draft Report, and the Walter Camp Foundation (among others). In addition, Staley received numerous awards from the Mountain West Conference throughout the season, including MWC Offensive Player of the Year and First-team All-MWC honors. Although he had one very good season, he still would rank just outside of the top 100 college running backs of the past two decades.
Professional Career
Staley decided to forgo his senior season at BYU and entered the 2002 NFL Draft2002 NFL Draft
The 2002 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936. The draft took place April 20–21, 2002 at the theater at...
. However, because of his injury-prone past, Staley was not selected until the seventh round (214th overall) by the Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
, He participated in Lions' training camp as a rookie, but suffered a knee injury that required a season-ending surgery.
He attended training camp the following season but was waived on August 25, 2003.(SGC)